7 ms·

with Tesla, SpaceX, Samsung and other tech investing this heavy in Texas, when/will it surpass CA as a tech powerhouse of the future?

optimalsolver 5y ago
When their power grid isn't held together with blu tack.
dntrkv 5y ago
https://www.statista.com/statistics/424167/venture-capital-investments-usa-by-state https://www.statista.com/statistics/424167/venture-capital-i... As far as VC money goes, Texas has a ways to go.
jeffbee 5y ago
I don't know but if you were waiting for a signal, Samsung built another, larger, and more valuable fab in Austin a decade ago. And if you are judging by fab capacity the question you should have asked is when Texas will overtake Arizona. There really are very few semi fabs in California.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
adam_arthur 5y ago
Beyond specific companies, Texas has more favorable business climate and tax rates. Housing alone is such a huge knock against CA for new companies. Even paying somebody 500k there leaves them feeling middle class when trying to raise a family. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but in Texas they build like crazy to support population inflows. If you drive through Austin you'll see every third or fourth house is getting torn down to be rebuilt into 2-3 houses on the same plot. Fundamentally this just gives you a lot more runway to grow. I don't know why anybody would start a company in SF these days, aside from VC being local and sometimes requiring it. I have no doubt Texas will overtake CA in terms of economic output, but will take decades just due to previous inertia. Also remote work may be the true winner in the end. I do think CA is still the place you want to be if money is no object though. Unfortunately that doesn't apply for most people. There may actually be a change in political winds that blow things back the other way though, just viewing this from today's lens.
- rllearneratwork 5y ago
  they are also not hostile to kids in public schools (CA dumbs down math, requires masks, requires CRT, etc.)
  - adam_arthur 5y ago
    Yeah, I suspect things will reach a breaking point and the pendulum will swing back. Just look at all the organized retail crime in Northern California. There's a new article pretty much every day about groups of 20+ coordinating mass retail thefts. Voters explicitly put into place DA and laws that basically decriminalized crime, and now are bearing the fruits of that. Don't think voters will continue voting for those policies now that repercussions being seen and lived.
    - rllearneratwork 5y ago
      >>"Don't think voters will continue voting for those policies now that repercussions being seen and lived." - I really hope you are right, but I am not expecting this. Unfortunately, average voter (both on the left and right) seems to be willing to reject realities of cause->effects if they conflict with their identity.
  - tills13 5y ago
    > hostile > requires masks, requires CRT This is some serious "won't somebody think of the children" energy. Every day people like you make me ashamed to be from Texas.
  - JaimeThompson 5y ago
    The Texas State Board of Education routinely tries to push young earth Creationism into science classrooms which is a bit hostile to those who want their kids to learn actual science.
    - rllearneratwork 5y ago
      did they succeed though? And if yes, did it came at the expense of "actual science"? An important lesson a parent should teach to their kids is that not 100% of what is taught to them is true and that some stuff taught to them is non-sense/political propaganda. In CA it is CRT, it TX it is Creationism. But which place will still teach them Algebra?
micromacrofoot 5y ago
Can they get similar talent with draconian social policies like abortion bans? If I suggested moving to Texas my wife would (rightfully) tell me to go fuck myself. There's been a lot of talk about Texas "turning blue" over the past few years and I wonder if these companies either moving their operations or building new plants there could be the tipping point.
- WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
  I imaging taking on a TX job would feel a lot like collaborating with an invader. I mean, I get that some folks are into that but still.
- rllearneratwork 5y ago
  "Can they get similar talent with draconian social policies like abortion bans? If I suggested moving to Texas my wife would (rightfully) tell me to go fuck myself." - I am very much against TX's policy on this. However, how many people are affected by this policy Vs how many kids will be denied Algebra in CA now? It is never 100% all good or bad policies in any place. It is always a mix. Rational people chose what's best for them and their loved ones overall.
  - WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
    > I am very much against TX's policy on this. However, how many people are affected by this policy Vs how many kids will be denied Algebra in CA now? I'm not sure these two things are meaningfully related. > It is never 100% all good or bad policies in any place. This argument works for about any systemic harm one can think of.
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    You're really comparing an abortion ban to delayed algebra? Also, that was just a single example. If you want to stick to education, Texas lawmakers have also been trying to push a book ban for public schools just this past month. There's also a bill targeting the concept of critical race theory that would ban curriculum where “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or sex.” This is significantly different from pros/cons like high taxes... there's a fairly strong current of anti-intellectualism across Texan politics.
paxys 5y ago
Trillion dollars companies setting up shop after getting billions in tax breaks is the opposite of how a tech ecosystem should develop. Look at the amount of VC dollars that come to Silicon Valley vs Texas.
cozzyd 5y ago
It needs more good universities first.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- rllearneratwork 5y ago
  the University of California system (where I got my Ph.D.) just got rid of standardized test without proposing anything better.The admission is now even more unfair and subjective. First time in a decade I am not donating to my Alma mater. Neither do many others from my class. Also California recently tried to pass a horrendous Prop 16 to enable outright race and gender discrimination in admission process. Luckily it didn't pass, but the politicians who supported it (Newsom, Harris) are still here to do damage.

optimalsolver 5y ago

When their power grid isn't held together with blu tack.

dntrkv 5y ago

https://www.statista.com/statistics/424167/venture-capital-investments-usa-by-state https://www.statista.com/statistics/424167/venture-capital-i... As far as VC money goes, Texas has a ways to go.

jeffbee 5y ago

I don't know but if you were waiting for a signal, Samsung built another, larger, and more valuable fab in Austin a decade ago. And if you are judging by fab capacity the question you should have asked is when Texas will overtake Arizona. There really are very few semi fabs in California.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

adam_arthur 5y ago

Beyond specific companies, Texas has more favorable business climate and tax rates. Housing alone is such a huge knock against CA for new companies. Even paying somebody 500k there leaves them feeling middle class when trying to raise a family. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but in Texas they build like crazy to support population inflows. If you drive through Austin you'll see every third or fourth house is getting torn down to be rebuilt into 2-3 houses on the same plot. Fundamentally this just gives you a lot more runway to grow. I don't know why anybody would start a company in SF these days, aside from VC being local and sometimes requiring it. I have no doubt Texas will overtake CA in terms of economic output, but will take decades just due to previous inertia. Also remote work may be the true winner in the end. I do think CA is still the place you want to be if money is no object though. Unfortunately that doesn't apply for most people. There may actually be a change in political winds that blow things back the other way though, just viewing this from today's lens.

rllearneratwork 5y ago
they are also not hostile to kids in public schools (CA dumbs down math, requires masks, requires CRT, etc.)
- adam_arthur 5y ago
  Yeah, I suspect things will reach a breaking point and the pendulum will swing back. Just look at all the organized retail crime in Northern California. There's a new article pretty much every day about groups of 20+ coordinating mass retail thefts. Voters explicitly put into place DA and laws that basically decriminalized crime, and now are bearing the fruits of that. Don't think voters will continue voting for those policies now that repercussions being seen and lived.
  - rllearneratwork 5y ago
    >>"Don't think voters will continue voting for those policies now that repercussions being seen and lived." - I really hope you are right, but I am not expecting this. Unfortunately, average voter (both on the left and right) seems to be willing to reject realities of cause->effects if they conflict with their identity.
- tills13 5y ago
  > hostile > requires masks, requires CRT This is some serious "won't somebody think of the children" energy. Every day people like you make me ashamed to be from Texas.
- JaimeThompson 5y ago
  The Texas State Board of Education routinely tries to push young earth Creationism into science classrooms which is a bit hostile to those who want their kids to learn actual science.
  - rllearneratwork 5y ago
    did they succeed though? And if yes, did it came at the expense of "actual science"? An important lesson a parent should teach to their kids is that not 100% of what is taught to them is true and that some stuff taught to them is non-sense/political propaganda. In CA it is CRT, it TX it is Creationism. But which place will still teach them Algebra?

micromacrofoot 5y ago

Can they get similar talent with draconian social policies like abortion bans? If I suggested moving to Texas my wife would (rightfully) tell me to go fuck myself. There's been a lot of talk about Texas "turning blue" over the past few years and I wonder if these companies either moving their operations or building new plants there could be the tipping point.

WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
I imaging taking on a TX job would feel a lot like collaborating with an invader. I mean, I get that some folks are into that but still.
rllearneratwork 5y ago
"Can they get similar talent with draconian social policies like abortion bans? If I suggested moving to Texas my wife would (rightfully) tell me to go fuck myself." - I am very much against TX's policy on this. However, how many people are affected by this policy Vs how many kids will be denied Algebra in CA now? It is never 100% all good or bad policies in any place. It is always a mix. Rational people chose what's best for them and their loved ones overall.
- WarOnPrivacy 5y ago
  > I am very much against TX's policy on this. However, how many people are affected by this policy Vs how many kids will be denied Algebra in CA now? I'm not sure these two things are meaningfully related. > It is never 100% all good or bad policies in any place. This argument works for about any systemic harm one can think of.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  You're really comparing an abortion ban to delayed algebra? Also, that was just a single example. If you want to stick to education, Texas lawmakers have also been trying to push a book ban for public schools just this past month. There's also a bill targeting the concept of critical race theory that would ban curriculum where “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or sex.” This is significantly different from pros/cons like high taxes... there's a fairly strong current of anti-intellectualism across Texan politics.

paxys 5y ago

Trillion dollars companies setting up shop after getting billions in tax breaks is the opposite of how a tech ecosystem should develop. Look at the amount of VC dollars that come to Silicon Valley vs Texas.

cozzyd 5y ago

It needs more good universities first.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
rllearneratwork 5y ago
the University of California system (where I got my Ph.D.) just got rid of standardized test without proposing anything better.The admission is now even more unfair and subjective. First time in a decade I am not donating to my Alma mater. Neither do many others from my class. Also California recently tried to pass a horrendous Prop 16 to enable outright race and gender discrimination in admission process. Luckily it didn't pass, but the politicians who supported it (Newsom, Harris) are still here to do damage.