Tesla, Charles Schwab — and Now Chevron. Texas is Having a Moment as Companies Leave California.

• A stampede of big corporations has left California for Texas, the latest being oil company Chevron.

• Tesla, Charles Schwab and Oracle have already moved from the Golden State to the Lone Star State.

• Texas advocates say low taxes and loose regulations attract businesses.

The wave of companies leaving California and moving to Texas is becoming a full-blown stampede.

Chevron, which has been based in California since 1879, when it began as Pacific Coast Oil Company, is the newest.

The oil company was sued by its home state late last year, accusing Chevron and other energy giants of downplaying the risks of fossil fuels.

But Texas has no problem - Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Friday: "WELCOME HOME Chevron! Texas is your true home."

In case there was any further confusion, he added, "Drill baby drill."

Chevron joins a number of other companies that have canceled their holdings in California and moved to Texas, which was home to 52 Fortune 500 companies in 2024.

Global real estate firm CBRE, which itself relocated from Los Angeles to Dallas in 2020, reported that eight Fortune 500 companies have moved their headquarters out of California between 2018 and 2023. And 10 have moved to Texas.

Still, it's important to note that California is no pushover. It is, of course, the birthplace of Silicon Valley tech, home to Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Nvidia. And it had 55 Fortune 500 companies at the magazine's last count.

But it's time to cross one off that list: Chevron, headquartered in San Ramon, was number 15.

Indeed, Texas seems to be having a moment right now. Here are some of the other biggest companies that have already moved to the Lone Star State.

Chevron

The most recent company to leave California, Chevron, has announced that its headquarters will move from San Ramon to Houston by the end of 2024.

According to the energy giant, the move will lead to better collaboration and engagement among managers, employees and business partners.

Chevron already has about 7,000 employees in the Houston area and 2,000 in San Ramon and expects to move all corporate functions to Texas within the next five years, the company said in a statement.

Tesla

In 2021, Elon Musk officially moved Tesla's headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin. Musk said at the time that the move was due to employees struggling to afford housing in the Bay Area, leading to longer commute times.

The Golden State is notoriously expensive. According to Zillow data, the average home there costs $786,730. In Texas, iIt's $308,121.

"There's a limit to how big you can get in the Bay Area," Musk said at the time.

Oracle

After four decades in Silicon Valley, Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin in 2020.

A spokesperson told Business Insider at the time that the move would give employees "more flexibility over where and how they work."

The database software company has been based in the Bay Area since its founding in 1977, and many employees are still there today.

According to Bloomberg, there are about 6,900 employees working in the California offices, nearly three times the number of employees in Texas.

CBRE

Stockbroker CBRE moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas in 2020.

Although the Fortune 500 company was founded in San Francisco more than a century ago, CBRE has had a major presence in North Texas since the 1970s.

In 2022, the real estate company also opened a 12,000-square-foot office in Richardson, Texas.

AECOM

The Fortune 500 construction company announced it will move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas in 2021.

Several major company leaders, including CEO Troy Rudd, joined the more than 1,200 employees from AECOM's existing Texas offices.

The company said North Texas is a "talent magnet" for engineering and consulting, but that California remains part of its growth strategy.

Space X

In July, Musk announced plans to move Space X from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.

Musk said the move was in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom signing AB 1955, which prohibits schools from enforcing policies that require parents to be notified if a student identifies as transgender.

The CEO called the law the "last straw," claiming it would "force families and businesses to leave California to protect their children."

X - formerly known as Twitter - will also follow suit, according to another tweet from Musk. He said the platform's headquarters would move from San Francisco to Austin.

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab HQ was previously based in San Francisco, but moved to Westlake, Texas in 2021 to reduce operating costs.

Chairman and founder Charles Schwab told Forbes that California's high taxes were a major factor in the decision, saying "the cost of doing business here is much higher than other places."

McKesson

In 2019, the healthcare giant moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Las Colinas, Texas.

Three years after the move, CEO Brian Tyler showed no regrets, saying the city was "absolutely the right community for McKesson to call home."

"Since moving to Irving, McKesson has quickly taken advantage of the Dallas area's large, diverse talent pool, easy travel opportunities and highly engaged business community," he said.

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