Elon Musk reincorporated SpaceX from Delaware to Texas in 2024, sparking a wider exodus from the historically business-friendly state.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesCompanies continue to leave Delaware, a state historically known for being business-friendly.Elon Musk inspired the exodus in 2024 when he reincorporated SpaceX in Texas.DoorDash was the most recent major company to announce its intention to leave the state.Delaware was once the go-to state to incorporate. That might be changing.A number of high-profile corporations have picked up and left the state in the last year, citing legal uncertainty and "subjectivity" introduced by the Delaware Court of Chancery, which handles corporate cases and business disputes.Elon Musk helped spark the trend when he urged companies to avoid incorporating in Delaware last year after a judge voided his $55 billion pay package. Some prominent companies, like Tripadvisor, left even before Musk's high-profile case.Although Delaware has a reputation as a business-friendly state, a series of recent court rulings has left executives wondering if they'll find better legal protections elsewhere. Musk, for example, reincorporated SpaceX and Tesla from Delaware to Texas."If the verdict in my case in Delaware is not overturned, it will be used as precedent in every fake shareholder case for every company incorporated in Delaware for the rest of time!" Musk wrote on X in 2024.Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer told Business Insider in February that the state is reaching out to companies and working to address concerns. Meyers approved several changes to the state's General Corporation Law in March.Companies incorporated in Delaware account for a substantial portion of the state's revenue. The Delaware Department of State says that close to 2 million companies, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, have made the state their legal home."Any company thinking about leaving, we're actively reaching out, we're talking to them, we're understanding what the issues are and understanding what ways we can do better," Meyer said. "And for those entities that have already made the decision to leave, we're going to continue to work hard to earn their trust and hopefully to have them come back."Here are the biggest companies leaving Delaware.DoorDashBloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDoorDash shareholders agreed to end its Delaware incorporation and relocate to Nevada, according to an SEC filing in August.The company said its concerns around Delaware's legal system triggered the decision."DoorDash's management and Board believe that the Company will be best positioned to pursue its corporate strategy within the more predictable, statute-based legal environment that Nevada provides," the company wrote. "However, in recent years, a discussion has emerged in the market over the legal landscape in Delaware, including as a result of cases that reached what many viewed as surprising results, an increasingly litigious environment and high-profile litigation outcomes that involved companies with controlling stockholders."Andreessen HorowitzThe Andreessen Horowitz logo is seen on a smartphone and a computer screen.Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesVC firm Andreessen Horowitz said in July it would reincorporate its primary business — AH Capital Management — to Nevada.The firm said "legal uncertainty" has created concern among investors and entrepreneurs on company boards."As a result, many of the companies we fund and the entrepreneurs that we talk to are taking a second look at whether they should incorporate in other jurisdictions, prompted by the departure from Delaware of significant technology companies like Dropbox, Tripadvisor, and Tesla," the firm said in a blog post.Andreessen Horowitz said it could have relocated "quietly," but it felt it was important to be transparent."For founders considering a similar move, there is often a reluctance to leave Delaware, based in part on concerns for how investors will react," the firm said. "As the largest VC firm in the country, we hope that our decision signals to our portfolio companies, as well as to prospective portfolio companies, that such concerns may be overblown."RobloxIn this photo illustration the Roblox logo seen displayed on a smartphone.Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocketRoblox, the online gaming platform, said its stockholders voted to move the company's corporate home to Nevada, according to a May SEC filing.In an April SEC filing, CEO David Baszucki wrote a letter to shareholders urging them to support management's proposals, which included leaving Delaware."We believe that Nevada's corporate law framework and statutory regime aligns with Roblox's culture of innovation, values, and mission to connect the world with civility and optimism," Baszucki said. "It also allows us to continue to build shareholder value, by providing a supportive, predictable environment.DropboxIllustration photo of the Dropbox appReutersThe file
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