Elon Musk is planning to build his own town on thousands of acres of newly purchased land outside of Austin, Texas, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.
Musk and high-level employees from his various companies envision a Texas utopia alongside the Colorado River, according to land records and people familiar with the project who spoke with WSJ. He hopes to set up the town in Bastrop County, 35 miles outside of Austin, and set some of his own regulations in the municipality. (RELATED: Elon Musk Looks To Challenge ‘Woke’ Chatbot ChatGPT With New AI Venture)
Inside Elon Musk’s plans to build a town – or maybe even a city! – on farmland outside Austin. A mayor might be elected. And Kanye was consulted. Big team effort w/ @bykowicz @rfelliott @thetrough https://t.co/AgmoS8lwiG
— Kirsten Grind (@KirstenGrind) March 9, 2023
Musk and top executives want Austin-based employees from the Boring Company, his tunnel business, Tesla Inc., his electric car company and SpaceX, his space company, to live in the town at residencies priced below market-level rates, people familiar with the conversations told WSJ.
The Boring Company and SpaceX are constructing facilities adjacent to the town, which already installed modular homes, a pool, a gym and an outdoor sports area, Facebook photos and people familiar with the town told the Journal.
The town is known as Snailbrook, a reference to the Boring Company’s snail mascot. Bastrop County officials have approved at least three street names referencing the Boring Company, county meeting documents reviewed by the outlet show.
Bastrop County has not received an application from Musk or his associates to incorporate the area. A town needs at least 201 residents to apply, and a county judge must approve the application.
Executives from the Boring Company, such as president Steve Davis, have described bigger ambitions to eventually build a city, according to sources and texts reviewed by the WSJ. Davis held an all-hands meeting of Boring Company employees in 2022 to discuss electing a mayor for the town.
Musk owns an estimated 6,000 acres of land in the area, local real estate brokers and land officials told WSJ. Entities tied to his companies have purchased an estimated 3,500 acres of land around Austin, according to records reviewed by the outlet.
All of the land purchases were made through limited liability companies with approval from Musk. He plans to build a private residential area for himself outside the town, people familiar with the plans told the WSJ.
Land sellers and local economic officials have signed non-disclosure agreements in many of the land purchases, they told the Journal. It’s unclear what the time frame would be for making Musk’s ambitions into reality.