Elon is creating something brand new. Recently, the CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk announced his plan of building a “utopia” in Texas, a whole new town on thousands of acres of farmland that he purchased outside Austin.
Deeds and land records highlight the project plan, and the billionaire has met with property owners and real estate professionals to discuss the development’s plans. The Wall Street Journal has called the project “a sort of Texas utopia along the Colorado River,” where staff members could work and live together.
Top members at Tesla CEO’s tunnelling company, the Boring Company, have looked into the possibility of locating the city in Bastrop County, 35 miles outside Austin. This would enable Mr Musk to control certain difficulties in a municipality that he owns and accelerate the projects.
According to sources, Elon and his executives would like the workforce at the Boring Company, SpaceX, and Tesla to have access to new houses in the Austin region for rent at a lower market rate.
According to Posts on Facebook and residents who are familiar with the region, a handful of modular homes, a pool, an outdoor activity facility, and a gym have been put in place.
The phrase “welcome, snailbrook, tx, est. 2021” is placed on signs. The Boring Company’s Gary the Snail mascot is referred to by the moniker Snailbrook.
‘Project Amazing’
The Bastrop Country Commissioners Court documents filed in the month of January showed various strategies to construct 110 homes near Snailbrook.
The law of Texas states that a town requires a minimum of 201 citizens and permission from a country judge before it can be integrated.
Gapped Bass LLC has filed copies to further construct 110 homes in the planned town, naming it “Project Amazing”.
The Boring Company Corporate Controller, Adam Pashian has been listed as a registered agent in online records for Gapped Bass
The Austin American-Statesman stated in July 2021 that Gapped Bass had acquired 73 acres of property in Bastrop County, Texas and that the firm shared the same location as the Boring Company’s premises in Pflugerville and listed Boring Company President Steve Davis as a manager in the paperwork provided with the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
Officials have approved several street names, such as “Boring Boulevard,” “Waterjet Way,” “Cutterhead Crossing,” and “Porpoise Place,” county documents show, the Austin Business Journal first reported.
Mr Hamner told KXAN in January that he thinks the properties will be made accessible through some kind of lease-to-buy arrangement.
Bastrop realtor Jacki Short told KXAN that “you are on the west side of Bastrop, the east side of Austin. So it is very easy for people to commute”.
“Really all of the Bastrop areas is a pretty busy area,” she added.
The Journal reported computer programmer Chap Ambrose has claimed that he believes “they want it to be secret. They want to act before anyone truly knows what is happening.”
According to local deeds and land registry, entities connected to Mr Musk have purchased 3,500 acres of property in the Austin region over the last three years.
In a report in The Journal, estate and land authorities notified the newspaper that they were told by the billionaire’s relatives and close associates that he may have 6,000 acres.
Texas has several broad areas of property that are lightly regulated, less zoning rules, and lower standards on labour and environmental issues. The state also charges neither an individual tax on earnings nor a tax on capital gains.
A personal Musk property is a part of Texas plans, which could be built outside of the town. According to individuals familiar with the plans, the tycoon has approved all land transactions. As reported by The Journal, a lot of sellers were asked to sign non – disclosure agreements.
County officials ‘regularly hounded’ by Musk staff
According to The Journal, Robert Pugh, a former Bastrop County director of engineering, claimed to the town’s planning commissioner Clara Beckett that Boring and Starlink workers had been “regularly hounded” by employees and subcontractors for both firms.
Mr Pugh asked that the county “expedite and approve permit applications that are incomplete and not in compliance” with laws in a statement he sent to the county in June 2022.
According to the real estate website Zillow, Bastrop County rent averages out to about $2,295 per month.
Adena Lewis, the director of tourism and development told that “they’re very respectful of us”, but she added that “they’re in a hurry”.
She said that the county being small may have appealed to the billionaire as it would give him “the ability to work with folks on a direct level, and not having tons of red tape”.