Elon Musk Plans to Build His Own Texas Town

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Elon Musk has been known to run his numerous businesses unconventionally—just take his chaotic, no holds barred takeover of Twitter as an example. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that the tech titan plans to take it to the next level by building an entire town of his own. Entities tied to Musk and his companies have amassed at least 3,500 acres of land outside of Austin, Texas, per the report—though some sources told the publication that the property totals closer to 6,000 acres.

The planned town is called Snailbrook, in reference to the mascot of Musk’s tunneling company, Boring Co. Located in Bastrop County near Boring and SpaceX facilities, the site would be designed as a live-work community for employees of Musk’s companies. Incorporating his own town would allow Musk to make some of his own regulations and dodge the slowdown effects of bureaucracy. “I think it’s the ability to work with folks on a direct level, and not having tons of red tape,” Bastrop director of tourism and economic development Adena Lewis said of Musk’s decision to set the town in the small county, per the Wall Street Journal.

Another benefit of the project would be providing employees with lower-than-market-rate housing. Snailbrook, although not yet an incorporated township, reportedly already has some modular homes, plus a public pool, gym, and outdoor sports area. An advertisement for Boring Co. employees last year touted two- to three-bedroom homes for rent starting at $800 a month, while the median rent in the area is about $2,200 a month, according to the Journal’s report.

Musk moved much of his business operations from California to Texas a couple of years ago due to the lighter regulations in the state. Texas has looser laws regarding labor, the environment, and zoning, in addition to no corporate income tax.

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