Elon Musk's Trillion Dollar Plan For Austin Texas
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Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast. This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla, X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. I'm your host, Will Walden. So what does Elon Musk have planned for Austin, Texas? And how did tensions from California accelerate his departure? Also, what does Musk's futuristic city really look like?

What started as a practical relocation for Tesla's operations have morphed into a sprawling network of projects this stretch, well beyond building electric cars. The story begins way back in the spring of 2020 when Tesla, Musk's flagship electric vehicle company, faced mounting challenges in California. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the state, authorities ordered Tesla's Fremont manufacturing plant to halt all operations.

Musk, known to be combative, refused to comply. The timing couldn't have been worse, or perhaps better, depending on your perspective. Tesla had just begun delivering its new Model Y crossover on March 16th of 2020, and while the world slowed to a crawl, Tesla was ramping up production.

By May of 2020, tensions between Musk and California officials boiled over. In a public declaration on Twitter, Musk wrote, frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas or Nevada immediately.

This announcement signaled a dramatic shift for a man who had spent much of his adult life and career in California after moving from South Africa at the tender age of 18. Now, though his exit may have appeared reactionary, Musk's decision to relocate to Texas has strategic underpinnings. The state's open land, lower taxes, lighter regulations, and affordable housing made it an appealing place for a company looking to expand rapidly.

These advantages stood in stark contrast to the densely packed, highly regulated environment of California.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that discussions about Tesla's move had begun as early as spring of 2020. The first tangible result of those talks came with the construction of Tesla's massive gigafactory in Austin. But even as construction on the site began, Musk had broader ambitions in mind for Texas beyond just cars. Tesla may have led the charge, but it was just the beginning. Not long after the announcement of Tesla's relocation, Musk's tunneling venture, The Boring Company, followed suit.

The company set up operations in Bastrop, a small town east of Austin along the Colorado River, in the land that was once a cow pasture has since transformed into what some are calling Hyperloop Plaza, the research and development hub for high-speed transportation projects. Now adjacent to the Boring Company's headquarters is a nascent community Musk has dubbed Snailbrook.

Reportedly inspired by conversations between Musk, musician Grimes, rapper Kanye West, and West's personal architect, early reports describe Snailbrook as having space for around 110 homes, warehouses, a pool, sports facilities, and even a putting green. While far from a futuristic metropolis, the development signals Musk's intent to build an integrated environment for his companies and his employees.

Now, though Tesla's moved Garner's headlines, Musk's connection to Texas dates back to 2014 when SpaceX began buying land in the coastal village of Boca Chica, about 350 miles south of Austin. Initially, the company's activities appeared minimal until 2019, but

when testing for the Starship program began. Over time, the area transformed into SpaceX's operational hub known as Starbase. Now, in parallel to Bastrop-Snelbrook, Boca Chica also houses a private employee community, complete with a SpaceX-exclusive pub and a private school called Ad Astra. The transformation has been so extensive that street names were changed to reflect SpaceX's dominance in the region.

A little side note, I spent about a year on the ground reporting from SpaceX's Starbase about Starship. It was the first iteration of a fully stacked Starship, and I spent a year documenting every single day down on Highway 4.

You can check all of those old live videos out at my YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Space News Pod. Now the Neuralink expansion happened too. Another piece of Musk's vision for Texas came to light in July 2024 when Neuralink, Musk's brain implant company, began building a $14 million three-story office and manufacturing facility near the Colorado River between Tesla's Gigafactory and the Boring Company's Bastrop site.

37-acre property offers ample space for expansion and marks a significant step for Neuralink, which remains headquartered in California. The shift to Texas coincides with Neuralink's transition from animal testing to human trials. And with its new facility, the company seems poised for fresh development and possibly a greater degree of autonomy from its California origins.

In addition to building companies, Musk has also turned his attention to education. Public records reveal that Musk, through his charitable foundation, donated $100 million to establish a primary and secondary STEM-focused school in Austin. The long-term plan, according to tax filings, is to expand the school into a university dedicated to science and technology education.

Perhaps the most unexpected development came in July of 2024 when Musk announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the platform's headquarters would relocate to Austin. X, which Musk took over in a controversial acquisition, has had a tumultuous journey under his leadership. One of Musk's early moves was laying off about 80% of the workforce, running much of the company's office space in San Francisco obsolete and empty.

Given X's status as a digital platform, the decision to base its operations in a rural area like Bastrop rather than Austin's urban core raised eyebrows. However, Musk's vision for X as an everything app and its connection to his generative AI venture, XAI, may explain the move. Advanced AI development demands significant computing power, and Musk has already built a major AI data center in Memphis, Tennessee.

A second, possibly even larger data center in Bastrop could serve as the technological backbone for Musk's future AI projects. Now, Musk and his Texas ventures may seem expansive and innovative. They have not been without challenges or criticism. Some residents down in Boca Chica and Bastrop have expressed concerns over Musk's company's growing influence in the potential environmental impact of these large scale developments.

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SpaceX is constantly in turmoil with environmentalists down at Starbase. It happened numerous times when I was down there and it's continuing to happen to this day. Additionally, Musk's often controversial public statements and combative personality have led to friction with local governments and community leaders.

Now, despite these hurdles, Texas offers Musk something California no longer could, the space and regulatory freedom to pursue his dreams. The state's relative affordability and accessibility make it fertile grounds for Musk's companies to expand operations and bring his ambitious projects to fruition.

Now, while much has already been accomplished, Musk's Texas story is far from over. The Gigafactory, Hyperloop Plaza, Snellbrook, Neuralink, Starbase are just the foundation of what Musk appears to envision as a technological and scientific hub in the Lone Star State. The question is not whether Musk will continue to expand in Texas, but rather how far this growth will go and what form it will ultimately take.

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