Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Now Oracle's exiting California for Texas. Will the last one in Silicon Valley, please turn out the lights?

Now Oracle's exiting California for Texas. Will the last one in Silicon Valley, please turn out the lights?

Oracle, part of the S&P 100 with 138,000 employees, was founded 43 years ago in Silicon Valley

If the outbound migration from Silicon Valley to Texas continues at its current clip, we may soon see a sign on southbound Highway 101 “Will the Last One in Silicon Valley, Please Turn Out the Lights?” (although California’s frequent blackouts might render the sign redundant).

Just 11 days after Hewlett Packard Enterprise, part of the firm that created Silicon Valley in 1939, announced it was moving its headquarters from San Jose, California to Houston, Texas, Oracle announced that its headquarters had moved to Austin, Texas from Redwood City, California.

Oracle, part of the S&P 100 with 138,000 employees, was founded 43 years ago in Silicon Valley. It’s not yet known if Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Technical Officer, is moving to Texas.

Of note, Ellison is the second-largest investor in Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Musk announced a personal move out of California to Texas a few days ago. Musk has frequently clashed with California politicians and bureaucrats during the past year over 1COVID1-19 restrictions and stifling governmental overreach, likening the state to a sports franchise that won for so long it has now forgotten what it takes to win.

California’s increasingly burdensome regulatory climate has driven Elon Musk’s Tesla to build a gigafactory in Texas outside of Austin. Within weeks of the announcement, the new plant was under construction.

In California, it would have taken five years just to navigate the environmental lawsuits — most of which are merely used as tools to extract concessions for union labor and other entrenched California special interests.

California has the nation’s highest income tax rate, 13.3 percent, and businesses save, on average, 32 percent of their operating costs by moving from California to Texas.

Some Texans took aim at Gov. Greg Abbott, who announced Oracle’s move on Twitter on Friday, Dec. 11. They’re worried that an influx of more Californians, assumed to be liberal, would turn Texas blue.

Last year, the Census Bureau estimated that about 560,000 people moved into Texas from other states while about 453,000 moved out. About 82,000 of those new Texans arrived from California. The Oracle move will add to a tiny fraction of the annual migration to Texas.

The fact is that thousands of small family businesses move to Texas every year from California, though few of them ever get any notice from the national media. They are mostly run by conservatives fed up with California’s high taxes and crushing regulatory burden.

Polling in Texas consistently shows that new arrivals are more conservative than native-born Texans. At least so far.

Even if Texans actually wanted to turn Californians away, there’s no legal way to do it. That is unless Texas were to adopt the same destructive policies that California has, such as expanding government, raising taxes, and dramatically increasing arbitrary regulatory enforcement.

Ellison himself has given to politicians of both major parties and gave some $4 million to a PAC supporting Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential bid. This year, he hosted a fundraiser for President Trump at his Rancho Mirage estate in California.

A few weeks ago, Joe Lonsdale, another Silicon Valley entrepreneur (Palantir and Addepar) and venture capitalist with a $3.6 billion fund, moved to Austin.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 15, Lonsdale cited, among other issues, a non-responsive government caused by “California’s intolerant far-left” politicians, electric blackouts, and a breakdown in public safety as reasons for his move out of the Golden State.

I couldn’t agree more. After working in California’s aerospace industry for 13 years, then serving six years as a conservative Republican California State Assemblyman until I termed out, I packed up and moved to Texas nine years ago. By the time I left in 2011, most of the aerospace giants for whom I consulted had packed up and left, as well.

California Democrats enjoy two-thirds supermajorities in each legislative house and every statewide elected office.

They own California politics. And they’d rather curse the darkness, the overhead light isn’t working, due to a blackout, following the departure of Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Musk, and Lonsdale than light the candle of reform.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
×