Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick ditched California for Texas, becoming the latest billionaire to flee the Golden State as lawmakers try to tax the ultra-wealthy.
Kalanick told TPBN hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays that he settled in Austin on December 18 while appearing on the show to talk about his robotics venture, Atoms, the New York Post (NYP) reported. The company, previously called City Storage Systems, builds industrial robots for sectors like food service, mining and transportation. Kalanick quipped that he felt left out watching so many wealthy Americans head to Florida instead.
“Why so much Florida action?! Like, come on homies,” he said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: California Wealth Tax Proposal Causes Internal Strife Among Democrats)
His departure came just days before a critical deadline tied to a proposed ballot measure that could reshape California’s tax landscape. The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act would slap a one-time 5% levy on fortunes topping $1 billion and would target anyone who lived in the state as of January 1, 2026, NYP reported. Supporters want the measure on the November ballot.
BREAKING: @travisk says he’s relocated from California to Texas.
“On December 18, I moved to Texas. I don’t know what’s so specific about December 18, but let’s just say it’s prior to January.” pic.twitter.com/d609lo2E1s
— TBPN (@tbpn) March 13, 2026
Kalanick is far from alone in heading for the exits. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California Republican, noted that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel have all announced plans to leave the state over the proposed tax, according to a press release from his office. Kiley introduced the Keep Jobs in California Act of 2026, federal legislation designed to block any state from imposing a retroactive tax on former residents.
The flight extends well beyond individual tech moguls. Major corporations including Palantir Technologies, ExxonMobil and Chevron have all shifted their headquarters from blue states to red states in recent years, drawn by lower taxes and friendlier business climates, Fox Business reported. Florida, which charges no state income tax, has become a top destination.