Elon Musk has plans to build his own “utopia city” for workers near his SpaceX and Boring sites, where he can manage his own projects outside of Austin.
Top executives at Boring Co., Musk’s tunneling operation, have been discussing how to start their own town called Snailbrook in Bastrop County, about 35 miles outside the Texas capital.
Not only could Musk provide his employees with cheap housing — $800 a month for a three-bedroom home — but it would also allow the magnate to legislate and help grease the wheels of his ambitious construction projects.
His Austin-area employees, which include employees from Boring, electric-car maker Tesla and its space exploration company SpaceX, would ideally all live in the brand-new homes nestled in thousands of acres of farmland beside the Colorado River.
Musk, his ex-girlfriend Grimes, Kanye West and the rapper’s architect have had several talks over the past year about designing the city, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Elon Musk has plans to build his own “utopia city” for workers near his SpaceX and Boring sites, where he can manage his own projects outside of Austin
A map of the construction project Musk is planning for his workers in Austin. Documents filed with the Bastrop County Commissioners Court show plans to build 110 more homes
The location of Musk’s corporate developments in Bastrop County in 2021
The talks were broad and included some mock-ups but have not yet resulted in final plans, a person familiar with the discussions told the newspaper.
Bastrop County has not yet received a request from Musk to incorporate the city. This would require at least 201 residents and the approval of a county judge.
Musk opened his new Tesla factory called Giga Texas in April last year. The sprawling facility, spread over 2,500 acres of Travis County outside of Austin, is believed to be the production center for the Model Y and the future home of the Cybertruck.
In neighboring Bastrop County, his tunneling company Boring is building a new warehouse, while SpaceX is building a 12-acre facility. The proposed Snailbrook utopia for his staff is just half a mile up the road.
Snailbrook takes its name from Boring’s mascot, a snail named Gary – a reference to the cartoon character SpongeBob of the same name.
Photos uploaded to Facebook by locals show hanging signs that read “Welcome. Snailbrook, TX estimated 2021.”
The site already includes a number of mobile homes, a pool, an outdoor recreation area and a gym.
A general view of the Tesla factory in Austin, Texas
The average monthly rent in Bastrop County is about $2,200, but Musk wants to offer his employees the opportunity to live there for a fraction of that price.
Local farmers have raised concerns about how the extensive plans would affect the country, particularly with regard to Boring’s tunneling, which could affect aquifers that feed the region’s wells.
Founded in 2016, Boring has developed ongoing and proposed projects for inner-city “loop” transit systems to provide all-electric, zero-emission, high-speed subway public transit.
The only operating tunnel is a 1.7-mile route through the Las Vegas Convention Center that transports attendees on limited days during events powered by Tesla cars.
Boring recently submitted a proposal to pump up to 140,000 gallons per day of industrial wastewater into the Colorado River.
David Barrow, who runs Eden Barrow East Farm on Bastrop’s North Main Street, told the Journal: “I would like to know what is actually being sprayed, what they are actually building and who will be holding them accountable.
He said there was “no transparency”.
In the past three years, legal entities associated with Musk or his companies have bought up about 3,500 acres of land in the Austin area, records show.
Cars are seen on the assembly line during a tour of the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility prior to the opening ceremony of the ‘Cyber Rodeo’ April 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas
Local officials told the Journal they’ve heard the billionaire actually owns north of 6,000 acres in the region — more than seven times the size of New York’s Central Park.
Musk left Silicon Valley two years ago after losing patience with California’s strict regulations, including building permits and tax laws.
He called his former homeland the land of “over-regulation, over-litigation, over-taxing” in December 2021.
Unlike California, Texas has fewer zoning laws, environmental and labor requirements, and has thousands of acres of loosely regulated farmland.
The Lone Star State also has no corporate income tax or individual income or capital gains taxes.
The Texas land purchases were made by at least four limited companies affiliated with Musk’s businesses or executives, the filings show.
They include plans for a private residence for Musk away from the main location for his workers, sources told the Journal.
Musk personally approved each land purchase, people familiar with the operation said.
Chap Ambrose, a computer programmer who lives on a hilltop overlooking Boring and SpaceX’s new facilities, told the Journal, “They want it kept secret. They want to do things before anyone really knows what’s happening.”
Musk has previously floated the idea of providing his employees with affordable housing in purpose-built communities.
In 2018 during a public panel alongside the then government. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, the tycoon, said he would like to build homes for Tesla workers next to his huge site outside of Reno.
Two years later, he tweeted about the construction of the “Starbase City” in Boca Chica Village, Texas, where SpaceX is working on the Gulf of Mexico.
Musk said he lives in a $50,000 home in Boca Chica that he rents from SpaceX.
However, his primary residence is reportedly actually a friend’s mansion in Austin.