SpaceX Left California. Its IPO Payday Did Not.

Today on Forbes, SpaceX left California . Its IPO payday did not . Elon Musk loudly quit California after years of attacking its taxes, politics , and business climate, moving SpaceX to Texas . Now the biggest fiscal event of his career could hand the state he trashed a giant [music] tax windfall anyway That is the awkward punchline hanging over SpaceX's expected IPO this week . [music] Because while the company's relocation gave it a new Texas headquarters , it did not move the thousands of soon-to-be wealthy SpaceX employees who still live and work in the Los Angeles area and will face [music] California's so-called millionaires tax . Texas, which doesn't tax personal income, won't get that bump . SpaceX is preparing [music] to sell 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece , raising about $75 billion and valuing the company at roughly $1.77 . For investors, that is a Mars shot valuation . [music] For California, it is something more terrestrial , taxable income landing in Los Angeles County . SpaceX, now headquartered in Boca Chica, Texas , said in its S-1 filing that it employs more than 22,000 people worldwide , including staff at artificial intelligence company XAI and social media platform X . While it didn't disclose how many work at its former HQ in Hawthorne, California , that quote designs and builds its reusable rockets and spacecraft , the Los Angeles suburb put that number at 7,661 in an annual city report [music] last June . SpaceX also operates an in-house airline that shuttles California-based engineering staff [music] from Los Angeles International Airport to Texas when needed there , allowing many to continue living in the Golden State . Ross Gerber, CEO of Santa Monica-based investment firm Gerber Kawasaki , whose clients include current and former [music] SpaceX employees , said, "When , the California economy is just going to boom . It's going to be a huge boost to the economy and the tax coffers of California. California 's budget is 100% paid for by rich people