Inside the Elon Musk-Subsidated Government in Texas in Texas Texas

After running away from the Silicon Valley for political and business reasons, Elon Musk builds a corporate campus in rural Texas – but its new neighbors have mixed views.

Half an hour east of Austin, along the airport, clogged traffic begins to melt and the plains of central Texas open, leaving the thriving city behind.

Somewhere on the main highway with two lanes, a left turn takes drivers on the farm's way to the market 1209. It seems as an unlikely address to a high-tech center, but that's exactly what Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and one of President Donald Trump's closest allies, is hoping to get up.

The court reports show that a large metal building completed in the last few months will be the new headquarters of the X, its social media platform.

At a short distance, a large logo of the boring company, the Musk infrastructure company, is plastered on the side of another plant. And through the FM 1209 is a rapidly developing SpaceX facility that produces Starlink satellite internet equipmentS

Like most technological tycoon, Musk has long made the Silicon Valley in its home and headquarters. After a supporter of the Democrats, his move to Texas is part of a more tendency to the technological world and also seems to reflect his own transformed ideological views.

The land here is (relatively) cheap, qualified technological workers from the nearby Austin are abundant, and local laws are favorable to development.

Of course, there are also specific political angles on the move.

In July 2024, Musk said he left California after the state adopted a law banning teachers from applying rules for notifying families when the students' identity was changing.

Musk has Alienated transsexual daughter And he spoke against what he calls a “awakened mind virus” – which he describes in interviews as a separation policy for identity-united with antimeritic and anti-no-free speech ideas.

And so Musk popped up sticks and headed for Texas, a Republican fortress and the fastest growing country in the United States.

In addition to the accumulation of buildings near Bastrop in central Texas, it built a SpaceX facility in Cameron County, on the southern end of Texas near the border with Mexico. SpaceX employees there filed a petition to create a new city called Starbase. The measure will go to vote in May.

Locals in Bastrop have mixed feelings for development.

“It's almost like we have a divided personality,” says Sylvia Carilo, a Bastrop city manager, which has a growing population of over 12,000. “The residents are happy that their children and grandchildren will work in the area.

“On the other hand, it may feel that we are in third country and that development will quickly urbate our area,” she says.

Although the development of musk is technically beyond the boundaries of the city, it is close enough that the Texas laws allow the Bastrop government to swing over development. And, d -Ja Carilo emphasizes, muscular buildings are just one example of many developments that arise in a thriving area.

“He is facing a reaction that is not entirely from his own creation,” she says.

“But now that he is here and things are changing fast, it's about managing” questions such as the prices of the house and the land and the environment, “she says.

The Musco Compound is still quite bare bones. The grand name Hyperloop Plaza sits in the middle of the corporate buildings and is home to the ownership of the company boring Bodega, bar, cafe, hairdresser and gift shop.

On a recent windy Sunday afternoon, the video game console sat without playing in front of the sofa near the company's T-shirt, while several children rushed back and forth to a playground outside.

Bastrop development fits exactly at the accelerating rate of activity in Central Texas, where cranes are constantly hanging over the silhouette of Austin and the housing market is an eternal topic of conversation.

The area has gone through various industrial storms and busts over the years, including timber and coal extraction, says Judy Ennis, a volunteer leader at the Bastrop Museum and the Visitor Center.

During the Second World War, tens of thousands of soldiers – and about 10,000 German prisoners of war – poured into a swift camp, a facility of the US Army north of the city.

“This probably had more impact than Elon Musk,” notes G -Ja Ennis.

Magnatz's views are mixed, the least and inseparable not only of his policy, but also with opinions on economic development, in what is still predominantly a rural area.

Juda Ross, a local real estate agent, says the development has a population growth, which began as a result of Austin's boom and accelerated during the Covid pandemic.

“I will always be prejudiced because I want growth,” says G -n Ross. “But I love him here and I want to be a part of him.

“If nothing else, what is good is the amount of jobs that it imports,” he says. “I have sold people working at Boring and SpaceX in the past year.”

Alfonso Lopez, Texa, who returned to the state after working in Seattle technology, says he initially chose Bastrop, thinking he would make a quick dollar when buying a house and continue.

Instead, he quickly fell in love with the city, his mix of local businesses and friendly people and wants to stay.

Lopez is not a big fan of Musk and is critical of some of its management practices and politics, but admires the technology that companies have built up and are happy to live near as long as the companies are good neighbors.

“Until they ruin my water or dig a tunnel under my house and create a sink, it's not bad,” he says, gesturing around the metal shed that lives Bodega, the cafe and the bar. “I'll come here and watch the game.”

His concerns about water are more than theoretical. Last year, the boring company was fined $ 11,876 (8,950 British pounds) by the Texas Committee on Environmental Quality after being cited as water pollution disorders.

Initially, the boring company plans to discard the wastewater in the nearby Colorado River, but after the local pressure, a transaction to send the sludge to the wastewater treatment plant.

It seems that water problems have delayed home construction, which, according to messages, can include more than 100 Musk employees. However, the planned development of homes has not been able to realize so far. So far, the extent of the living quarters is a handful of temporary trailers behind the Bodega building, surrounded by a wall, a texas plain and several horses that move the grass. Mrs. Carilo, the city manager, says that every large-scale residential building is at least one year.

In November, SpaceX applied to indicate a free shopping area, which would allow him to move materials and finished products to and outside the Bastrop factory without being subject to tariffs – one of Donald Trump's signature policies.

This is a common practice for manufacturers and there are hundreds of similar areas across the country.

Local Texas officials have approved the proposal, stating that it will strengthen the local economy, although it costs about $ 45,000 (£ 34,800) in revenue this year.

The company also received an injection of $ 17.3 million (13.4 million British pounds) from the Texas government to develop the site, a grant expected that employees are expected to create more than $ 400 jobs and $ 280 million in Bastrop.

Few locals wanted to criticize Musk directly when standing face to face with a visiting reporter. But this is a different story online where more feelings shine.

“They will ruin everything nearby,” a resident posted in a local online forum. “Nothing good comes with him.”

The BBC contacted SpaceX, the boring company and X for comment.

D -Ja Carilo, the city manager, says she did not take very personal anger from the locals, encouraged by Musk's activities in Washington.

But to protect Bastrop, according to her, the city has recently adopted laws limiting the density of housing and provides public parks – measures that, in her opinion, will preserve the “historical character” of the well -preserved center of the city, while allowing growth in the outskirts.

According to her, Bastrop is a conservative, traditional Republican place.

“His national things don't really regret,” she says. “His companies were good corporate citizens and we hope he can remain so.”