Love him or loathe him, Elon Musk seems to be everywhere. His cars fill our streets, his rockets streak across the skies, and his tweets flood our feeds. Now, imagine if he wasn’t just part of the background but a growing presence in your own hometown.
That’s the reality for Bastrop, Texas—a historic town of roughly 12,000 residents located 40 minutes from Austin. Bastrop County has become a hub for Musk’s ever-expanding business empire, hosting facilities for Starlink and The Boring Company, with Tesla and Neuralink also nearby.
Soon, the company formerly known as Twitter, now called X, will begin construction on its new headquarters in Bastrop. More than 100 X employees from Austin have reportedly been encouraged to make the town their new home.
Jessica Mathews, a journalist for *Fortune*, made two trips to Bastrop to explore its transformation for the magazine’s latest issue, which named Musk No. 1 in its inaugural "Most Powerful People in Business" ranking. She discovered a town caught between its cowboy roots and rapid modernization. Highlights of her visit included a Buc-ee’s parking lot lined with Tesla chargers, a Musk-owned Montessori school, and conversations with locals about the unusual changes sweeping through their once-quaint town.
“It’s like a flying saucer landed,” one local attorney said, capturing the sense of bewilderment among residents as the town becomes a focal point for Musk’s ventures. Despite the billionaire’s omnipresence in media, none of the locals Mathews spoke to had actually seen him in person.
This elusiveness extended to her reporting efforts; neither Musk nor representatives from his companies granted her interviews, consistent with their distrust of traditional media.
Feelings about Musk’s growing presence in Bastrop are mixed. Some residents worry about the rising cost of living and environmental concerns tied to industrial expansion, particularly given The Boring Company’s controversial history. Others, however, appreciate gestures like SpaceX offering land for community soccer fields. Interestingly, Musk’s companies have not sought tax breaks from the county, according to a local commissioner, and there are signs of genuine efforts to integrate into the community.
For now, Bastrop seems to be holding its collective breath, uncertain of what lies ahead. Meanwhile, the town’s attention is also divided by a local political scandal involving allegations of misconduct by the mayor, who is accused of interfering in an investigation tied to an affair and the misuse of city funds—claims the mayor’s attorney denies.
Is Bastrop a microcosm for the broader impact of Musk’s ventures? Perhaps. But maybe it’s also a reminder to focus on the stories unfolding in our own backyards. If you do find yourself in Bastrop, though, you can charge your Tesla at the Buc-ee’s while enjoying a chorizo breakfast burrito—or better yet, try the calzone at Neighbor’s, a cozy spot with a patio overlooking the Colorado River.
Comments
Post a Comment