Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has already shown that when a city’s rules won’t bend to his will, he’ll create a new city and new rules. That’s how Starbase, the self-governing town built around SpaceX’s southern Texas launch site, came to be.
He’s had a relatively easier time building his other company town about 350 miles north in Bastrop County, where the local government has (mostly) gone along with the billionaire’s vision so far. The more than 10-square-mile Musk compound known as Snailbrook is home to his tunnel-drilling venture the Boring Company, X and a manufacturing facility for SpaceX, amidst a handful of amenities for employees.
Snailbrook is now set to get even more of the trappings of a full-fledged company town: a development of eventually more than 20 homes for staff onsite, science center, gym and other facilities are in the works, according to correspondence between Musk’s executives and city and state officials that Bloomberg obtained through a public records request.
As Musk tasks Boring with building out the town, he’s also testing the limits of just how amenable the area will be to his ambitions. To date, Bastrop has had relatively little red tape to deal with and has tolerated infractions.
But Starbase proves he has a plan B, should he need one.
Boring and the city of Bastrop did not return requests for comment on the new construction plans.
Haggling for tax breaks
Musk has taken a combative approach since his arrival in Bastrop in 2021. Boring, the company he founded to revolutionize cities with futuristic tunnels, has built infrastructure and test projects without the required permits. Due to several wastewater violations, Boring has been fined around $9,000.
More recently, the company has been focused on lowering its tax bills, according to people familiar with the matter who aren’t authorized to speak publicly. Documents show executives have haggled with officials over late payment penalties and sought property tax exemptions on company-owned houses.
Boring argued that because it operates its own preschool on campus, the company shouldn’t have to pay school taxes. The Bastrop Central Appraisal District disagreed, and didn’t respond to a request for comment.
To smooth over relations, the company has pitched donating some of its undeveloped land and funds to build community soccer fields, according to company correspondence. That, too, might help Boring lower some of its tax bills, because it would be considered a charitable deduction. It’s unclear whether company executives had any success with that proposal — it came with the requirement that local groups kick in some of the estimated $300,000 in costs.
Boring had more luck pushing for changes to the state’s liquor laws, which require its on-campus bar, Prufrock Pub, to collect voter signatures to petition for a private license to sell mixed beverages.
“Good news!” Adena Lewis, head of economic development at the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce, wrote Boring’s CFO in a June letter seen by Bloomberg. She explained her organization had managed to get a bill through the Texas Legislature specifically to give Bastrop more control over its liquor permits. “We will be able to eliminate the need for your private club license [in 2026]… help is on its way!” she wrote.
Lewis said in an email that the Chamber did not take any “special action” specifically for Boring and had been working on a legislative fix on behalf of “many” applicants.
Too much, too fast?
Situating Snailbrook on formerly agricultural land made it less disruptive to the surrounding community than Starbase’s takeover of Boca Chica, though it hasn’t come without controversy.
Some people welcome the amenities Musk has brought in, such as a bodega, pub, salon and playground in an otherwise rural area. Those additions have “definitely helped with goodwill,” said Judah Ross, a Realtor with Bastrop Real Estate Group. Boring also has plans to create a public STEM center and Hyperloop Health Club with climbing walls, according to people familiar with the plans and company correspondence with the county.
Others worry Snailbrook is spurring too much growth, too fast. Skip Connett, a Bastrop resident and co-founder of Friends of the Land, a volunteer-led effort to preserve the environment, points to the blooming algae growth in the nearby Colorado River. That’s due to an increase in wastewater from the influx of industries and more people moving in, and he’s concerned that there are no plans in place to protect the area.
In 2023, Boring and SpaceX applied for a permit to dump more than 100,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day in the river. After pushback from residents, lawmakers and environmental groups, the companies reached a deal with Bastrop to treat their wastewater at a city facility.
“They should be good corporate citizens, better than they’ve been,” said Connett, adding that they ought to prioritize land preservation and resident accessibility.
One amenity Boring is willing to offer Bastrop is, what else: tunnels. The company has pitched a network of pedestrian tunnels, including a 2,000-foot one that would connect the center of town to the Colorado River.
Boring has quoted around $7.5 million for the project, and the county is seeking to raise the funds via grants, said Vivianna Nicole Andres, assistant to Bastrop’s city manager. She noted the nearby city of Smithville recently obtained a grant for a pedestrian bridge that had cost about $15 million, making Boring’s tunnel a faster and cheaper solution.
Not everyone is sold on the potential benefits.
“People don’t really go those routes on foot,” said longtime resident Herb Smith, adding that Bastrop has more important infrastructure improvements to address first.
“Just because someone can do tunnels now doesn’t mean they should do them.”
Porter and Carlson write for Bloomberg.
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