Technology bigwig Elon Musk appears to be planning to build his own town in Texas for employees of two of his companies.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the said town will be called Snailbrook and will serve as a community for employees of Space X and The Boring Company (TBC). The community's name alludes to TBC's mascot Gary, which in turn was named after the "Spongebob Squarepants" titular character's pet snail.
In line with this endeavor, Musk and his associates have bought at least 3,500 acres of land about 35 miles outside of Austin, Texas over the last few years. The chief executive of Tesla and Twitter, alongside his employees, described the proposed company town as a "sort of Texas utopia along the Colorado River." Moreover, the WSJ stated that Snailbrook would be located near SpaceX and TBC facilities.
An earlier report by Insider revealed that the South African-born bigwig plans to build about 110 homes. Documents obtained by the outlet also revealed the names of certain streets – such as Boring Boulevard, Cutterhead Crossing, Waterjet Way and Porpoise Place.
SpaceX and TBC employees who will live at Snailbrook's pre-fabricated homes can also look forward to a pool, an outdoor sports area, a gym and even a school, according to the WSJ report. A planned private compound for Musk, most likely located outside of the town, is also included in the plans. (Related: Tesla launches first solar-powered neighborhood in Austin.)
The U.S. is no stranger to the concept of company towns. One of the best examples is the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was established by Milton Hershey of The Hershey Company fame in 1903 for the company's workers – who enjoyed houses with indoor plumbing, central heating, lawns maintained by the chocolate company itself and other amenities, the WSJ reported.
Snailbrook to provide affordable housing for Musk employees
The WSJ added that Snailbrook could form part of Musk's plans to provide affordable housing for his employees. It cited an ad for TBC employees stating that staff members could rent two- and three-bedroom houses starting at $800 monthly.
For Musk's part, he has expressed concern over affordable housing in the past.
During a public panel discussion with former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval in 2018, he talked about building housing for Tesla workers alongside the electric car manufacturer's huge complex outside Reno.
Three years later in 2021, Musk issued an "urgent" plea for more housing in Austin, Texas as SpaceX and Tesla sought to fill hundreds of jobs there. The "Chief Twit" mentioned at the time his plans to form a new city called "Starbase" at SpaceX's launch facilities in the Lone Star State.
In spite of the fact that SpaceX employees have taken over much of Boca Chica Village in Texas – where the space rocket firm has operations – it remains unclear whether the city has been incorporated.
A spokeswoman for Cameron County, where Boca Chica Village is located, did not respond to requests for comment. Musk himself and spokespersons for SpaceX and TBC did not respond to requests for comment as of writing.
Watch Elon Musk talk about PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX with Jon Stewart below.
This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.
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