Elon Musk wants to build his own town in Bastrop, report says

Elon Musk could be looking to build out his own town in Bastrop County, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The billionaire, who moved to Texas in 2020 and has relocated or expanded a number of his companies into Central Texas, has a vision to build out a "Texas utopia" along the Colorado River in Bastrop County where employees could live and work, the report said. It said the billionaire's town has been discussed extensively by executives at the Boring Co., Musk's tunneling and infrastructure company.

The town would be built on land near two of Musk's companies in Bastrop County.

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The Boring Co., founded in California, moved its headquarters to Pflugerville in recent years. The company has been building an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility on a Bastrop County property, where it plans to test tunneling equipment and dig "as many tunnels as needed for research and development purposes," according to state filings. Currently the Boring Co. site is in unincorporated Bastrop County.

SpaceX, Musk's aerospace company, has been building a $43 million facility with more than 500,000 square feet on a neighboring parcel.

Musk said he moved to the state to be closer to his two biggest focuses, Giga Texas, the Tesla manufacturing site in southeastern Travis County; and SpaceX’s South Texas site.

In addition to the Tesla, Boring and SpaceX facilities, Musk's neurotechnology company, Neuralink, is constructing an eight-building lab and office space in Del Valle.

Musk has also moved his private foundation to Austin.

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Boring Co., SpaceX and Tesla employees could live in 'Snailbrook, Texas'

The Wall Street Journal report cited deed records and people familiar with the plans and said Musk has been meeting with landowners and real estate agents. The Journal also reported that Musk and Boring Co. executives have researched and discussed incorporating a town in Bastrop County.

The report said Musk envisions that employees from Boring Co., Tesla and SpaceX could live in new homes with below-market rents. It also said the Bastrop site already includes modular homes, an outdoor sports area and a gym.

Gapped Bass LLC, an entity associated with the Boring Co., has been buying up hundreds of acres of properties in Bastrop County. The report said the town would sit on Gapped Bass land. According to the report, which cited an advertisement, last year Boring Co. employees were able to apply for two- or three-bedroom houses that they rented starting at about $800 a month. If they leave the job or are fired, they would need vacate within 30 days, the report said.

The plans are also in line with an application for a wastewater permit for the Boring Co. site, about which the Statesman reported last year. The application mentions that the company expects up to 100 employees a day to be on the site, and that the site has several warehouses and office buildings, 15 on-site employee housing units, a recreational court, and parking. It also said plans include an on-site bistro or cafe, more employee housing and more parking.

Some neighbors have raised concerns about the Boring Co.’s Bastrop expansion plans. In recent months, banners with a snail, the company’s mascot, have been spotted at the Boring Co. Bastrop site. They say, “Welcome to snailbrook."

Filings in the area for a "Project Amazing" also have shown plans to build housing. Plans for the project show more than 100 housing units on 108 acres, with streets named for the company, including Boring Boulevard and Cutterhead Crossing.

The report said there are also plans to build a private residential compound for Musk a distance from town as a separate project, citing people familiar with the plans. Musk has said he lives in a tiny home near Brownsville on property owned by SpaceX and has disputed media reports that he is using a wealthy friend's house when in Austin. But the billionaire does spend significant time in Austin. Flight records show that Musk spent more time in Central Texas than in any other place from 2021 through August 2022.

The Journal report said the Bastrop plans could grow even bigger. Boring Co. President Steve Davis has reportedly described plans that would include creating an entire city. The report cited people familiar with the plans and text messages viewed by Journal reporters. The report also said Davis mentioned during a company all-hands meeting that there could be a future election for mayor of the city. Under Texas law, a town would need at least 201 residents to apply to be incorporated and would need approval from a county judge.

Still, the Boring Co. has a history of lofty plans, but nationally it has just one public tunnel, in Las Vegas. In recent years, the company has reached out to a number of Central Texas cities and other entities about potential tunneling projects, but nothing has materialized.

More:Elon Musk's Boring Co. has floated idea of building tunnel from Tesla to downtown Austin

'Snailbrook' not Elon Musk's first Texas city idea

It's also not the first time Musk has floated the idea of a city or town in Texas. In 2021, he tweeted that he wanted to create the "city of Starbase, Texas," a reference to his South Texas SpaceX operations.

The report also said that Musk's former girlfriend Grimes, as well as Kanye West and West’s architectural designer have been involved in broad discussions about the town, citing people familiar with the conversations. But the report said the discussions have not led to concrete plans.

More:Controversial permit for Elon Musk's Boring Company to dump wastewater heads to public meeting

The report comes as the company seeks a permit to build a wastewater treatment facility on its research and development site in Bastrop County to treat and discharge wastewater related to tunnel boring equipment, manufacturing, an on-site bistro, on-site housing and sanitary water related to restrooms.

Concerns have been raised by members of the community and environmental groups, who, along with state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, who formerly represented the Bastrop area where the Boring Co. site is, requested a public meeting on the permit. That meeting will be held March 21.

If the permit is granted, the company would be able to dispose of 142,500 gallons of treated wastewater a day directly into the Colorado River below Lady Bird Lake, according to the draft permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The company also requested the option of disposing of the wastewater via irrigation onto 63 acres of grassland it owns.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Elon Musk wants to build a city outside Austin. Here's what we know.