I'm a Native Californian and 1st Generation American. I joined the US Air Force as a Junior in High School (DEP - delayed enlistment program). My recruiter helped me pick an awesome AFSC (Doppler, Inertial, and Celestial Nav Systems) as my goal was to learn electronics (family couldn't afford to send me to Cal Berkeley or anywhere else), work on planes (my first love), and serve my country during the Cold War (my Dad served during WWII in the RAF). A great start - from AFSOC in W. Germany (Rhein Main AFB), to SACHQ in Omaha NE (Offutt AFB), then NRO in Marysville CA (Beale AFB - SR-71 & U-2).
My career progressed from hardware, to firmware, to software. 15 startups later, I became a "thousandaire" - never landed the big money (no bitterness, just a fact). But I enjoyed every minute.
I am 100% in agreement with you that what Elon did is a huge shift! He BROUGHT EVERYONE WITH HIM, not just a bunch of VCs who ultimately cash in, alone... the VCs always believe it was their "risk-reward" yet we did the work.
Elon knows: it takes everyone to succeed.
California, my home state, has tarnished and taxed the American Dream right out of this state. Sad.
Thank You for your post. Sadly, we've offshored the American Dream, and we need to get back to making things again...
Are they getting hammered by local tax policies but also by the states punishing tax policies. I truly hope you are successful in your run for Congress because we need someone of your caliber in Washington. But I don’t know how that will help us attract the type of businesses that you describe back to California. The central Coast will be even tougher because of the cost of land and the cost of living. Good luck this fall.
What a great essay and perspective! In this short sighted culture where critical thinking is not taught nor encouraged, it’s important for everyone to know the “complete” story or the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say and end his program. Elon, with all his quirks is a genius!
Cali’s goal appears to be drive out all big business and saddle it’s citizens with an untenable tax burden. And thereby crush us into socialism. Because all the big business money needed to fight the CA govt in court will be gone.
Ironically, Bob Smith is celebrating, as an example of economic success at its best, a situation in which workers owned shares of the company that employed them which is exactly what Marx advocated: workers controlling the means of production. So, really, SpaceX has its toe in the river of socialism, and that's being praised here.
Please re-read Das Kapital again, comrade. Marx did not advocate for a stock market in which ownership could be converted to cash. Individual stock ownership is a feature of capitalism.
Interesting , so do the workers at SpaceX control the means of production? I’m pretty sure Elon’s got a death grip on that. Looks to me like EM used the carrot and stick. Because the hardest thing to do is to get people to take ownership of a company. (especially in 2026.)
Elon Musk just made 4,400 of his employees millionaires. My take on that:
Let's put some big numbers in perspective. I became a millionaire almost 10 times over from a company I started and was successful with over the span of 35 years. I started a profit share program for my employees. Those employees that were with me for 10 to 15 years (about 10 out of 100 employees) each had enough money to put down payments on their first homes. My contribution to that was $20,000 to $40,000 per employee directly from the money I earned.. Percentage wise, that's 4% of my total wealth.
Elon's stock options to employees was 0.45% of investor’s money (allow for 5% to 10% plus or minus in these estimates, as I am a businessman and spent my life being real about numbers).
To put one trillion dollars into perspective, if you earn a dollar a second = $60 a minute = $3,600 an hour. Over 24 hours you're making $86,400 a day. It would take you 12 days to become a millionaire, 31 years to become a billionaire, and a trillionaire..., 31 centuries. When you make that kind of money you move to where it's cheap; wages, low taxes, throw in some automation and you've just added billions to your yearly bottom line. No judgment on the above, just numbers.
Now my opinion:
We have entered a new Gilded Age. Sounds good if you don't know what that is or you do and you're rich, looking to become richer. Look it up and look at what Teddy Roosevelt did about that.
40 years later when we all banded together during World War II, (our grandparents and great-grandparents) we're known as the Greatest Generation. From 1946 through the 1970s households with a single parent income and three kids could afford a home, a couple of cars, take nice vacations.
Do your own research on what the average worker made compared to executive officers then and compare that to now.
If we want to fix this, we need to move forward not backwards. Help all our kids and young adults get a better education, and get special interest money out of politics. Nuf said.
Excellent post!
I'm a Native Californian and 1st Generation American. I joined the US Air Force as a Junior in High School (DEP - delayed enlistment program). My recruiter helped me pick an awesome AFSC (Doppler, Inertial, and Celestial Nav Systems) as my goal was to learn electronics (family couldn't afford to send me to Cal Berkeley or anywhere else), work on planes (my first love), and serve my country during the Cold War (my Dad served during WWII in the RAF). A great start - from AFSOC in W. Germany (Rhein Main AFB), to SACHQ in Omaha NE (Offutt AFB), then NRO in Marysville CA (Beale AFB - SR-71 & U-2).
My career progressed from hardware, to firmware, to software. 15 startups later, I became a "thousandaire" - never landed the big money (no bitterness, just a fact). But I enjoyed every minute.
I am 100% in agreement with you that what Elon did is a huge shift! He BROUGHT EVERYONE WITH HIM, not just a bunch of VCs who ultimately cash in, alone... the VCs always believe it was their "risk-reward" yet we did the work.
Elon knows: it takes everyone to succeed.
California, my home state, has tarnished and taxed the American Dream right out of this state. Sad.
Thank You for your post. Sadly, we've offshored the American Dream, and we need to get back to making things again...
Thanks Bob for this very well written article!
Think any of our Elected Officials would have written an article like this, negative!
It’s because of our Elected, doing business in California has moved to a more friendly business state taking thousands of high paying jobs with them.
We need you Bob to help our State turn this disaster around!
Well said! We need politicians who believe in capitalism, not socialism.
Are they getting hammered by local tax policies but also by the states punishing tax policies. I truly hope you are successful in your run for Congress because we need someone of your caliber in Washington. But I don’t know how that will help us attract the type of businesses that you describe back to California. The central Coast will be even tougher because of the cost of land and the cost of living. Good luck this fall.
I could not agree more, you have my vote, but how are you going to beat Carbajal?
What a great essay and perspective! In this short sighted culture where critical thinking is not taught nor encouraged, it’s important for everyone to know the “complete” story or the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say and end his program. Elon, with all his quirks is a genius!
Thank you!
Sounds like you're suggesting that economic potential is at its strongest when the workers own a share of the business. Interesting idea.
Cali’s goal appears to be drive out all big business and saddle it’s citizens with an untenable tax burden. And thereby crush us into socialism. Because all the big business money needed to fight the CA govt in court will be gone.
Ironically, Bob Smith is celebrating, as an example of economic success at its best, a situation in which workers owned shares of the company that employed them which is exactly what Marx advocated: workers controlling the means of production. So, really, SpaceX has its toe in the river of socialism, and that's being praised here.
Please re-read Das Kapital again, comrade. Marx did not advocate for a stock market in which ownership could be converted to cash. Individual stock ownership is a feature of capitalism.
Interesting , so do the workers at SpaceX control the means of production? I’m pretty sure Elon’s got a death grip on that. Looks to me like EM used the carrot and stick. Because the hardest thing to do is to get people to take ownership of a company. (especially in 2026.)
Everything you laid out here is of course 100% true. Unfortunately, the reason all these companies are leaving California is because not only.
Elon Musk just made 4,400 of his employees millionaires. My take on that:
Let's put some big numbers in perspective. I became a millionaire almost 10 times over from a company I started and was successful with over the span of 35 years. I started a profit share program for my employees. Those employees that were with me for 10 to 15 years (about 10 out of 100 employees) each had enough money to put down payments on their first homes. My contribution to that was $20,000 to $40,000 per employee directly from the money I earned.. Percentage wise, that's 4% of my total wealth.
Elon's stock options to employees was 0.45% of investor’s money (allow for 5% to 10% plus or minus in these estimates, as I am a businessman and spent my life being real about numbers).
To put one trillion dollars into perspective, if you earn a dollar a second = $60 a minute = $3,600 an hour. Over 24 hours you're making $86,400 a day. It would take you 12 days to become a millionaire, 31 years to become a billionaire, and a trillionaire..., 31 centuries. When you make that kind of money you move to where it's cheap; wages, low taxes, throw in some automation and you've just added billions to your yearly bottom line. No judgment on the above, just numbers.
Now my opinion:
We have entered a new Gilded Age. Sounds good if you don't know what that is or you do and you're rich, looking to become richer. Look it up and look at what Teddy Roosevelt did about that.
40 years later when we all banded together during World War II, (our grandparents and great-grandparents) we're known as the Greatest Generation. From 1946 through the 1970s households with a single parent income and three kids could afford a home, a couple of cars, take nice vacations.
Do your own research on what the average worker made compared to executive officers then and compare that to now.
If we want to fix this, we need to move forward not backwards. Help all our kids and young adults get a better education, and get special interest money out of politics. Nuf said.
https://substack.com/@mitalibharali/note/p-204011889?r=5ltrkd&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action