JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not as eager as the state’s chief financial officer to bring Twitter’s headquarters to the Sunshine State.
After it was announced that Elon Musk was in a deal to purchase the social media platform in a $44-billion deal, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis has begun an online campaign to encourage the billionaire businessman to bring Twitter’s headquarters to Florida.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Gas prices jump again in Florida, up $1.40 per gallon from year ago | Here are 3 ways to keep lovebugs from bugging you this season | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
“Join me in inviting @elonmusk to move @Twitter to the freest state in the nation! Florida would benefit the company as a whole—we have no state income tax and the perfect business climate. It’s time to book a one way (SIC) ticket,” Patronis said in a tweet.
Join me in inviting @elonmusk to move @Twitter to the freest state in the nation! Florida would benefit the company as a whole—we have no state income tax and the perfect business climate. It's time to book a one way ticket.
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) April 29, 2022
Add your name⬇️ https://t.co/oGUiAZt1Vv
Patronis even launched a website where Floridians can add their names to the chorus calling for the move from San Francisco.
However, the governor is not on board with the plan.
“In Florida, I think we’ve done very well, particularly over the last few years, attracting businesses that are producing things,” DeSantis said. “We’ve worked really hard on vocational and career education — importing some tech company from San Francisco has not been high on our list. I think that what happens is they’ll tend to come in, they drive up the cost of living for everybody else and OK, yeah, they enjoy our lower taxes but you know, what are they really providing?”
Despite that, the governor did express his support for Musk’s purchase of the platform.
“I think that that platform has been used really as a tool to enforce narratives and to stifle dissent when it was born to be an open platform,” DeSantis said. “We actually had our State Board of Administration (write) letters to Twitter’s board of directors before they accepted the offer when they looked like they were trying to fend it off, saying, ‘Look, you guys can make business judgments, but you can’t veto a great offer just because you don’t like Elon or because you’re worried that he may open up Twitter.’”
DeSantis also recognized Musk’s contributions to the state’s aerospace industry from SpaceX, but the governor ultimately said he is not interested in welcoming Twitter to Florida.
“In terms of bringing Twitter from San Francisco to Florida, that’s not something that I’m advocating,” he said.