Elon Musk not endearing himself to Texas neighbors

His companies are sparking concerns, distrust near Austin

Elon Musk’s decisions, particularly regarding Twitter, are drawing international attention and, sometimes, outrage. At a much more granular level, however, it’s Musk’s neighbors being driven nuts.

Residents of Bastrop County in central Texas expressed displeasure about the commercial activities surrounding once-idyllic farmland, the Austin Business Journal reported. Musk has centered much of his business empire in the area around Austin and Bastrop, including the social media company, Tesla, SpaceX, the Boring Co. and Neuralink.

Musk’s moves have some residents, disheartened by ecological disruption and a lack of transparency from Musk’s companies, contemplating moving. Ecological concerns in the area stem from recent wildfires and floods. Residents fear damage could worsen as the Boring Co. digs underground tunnels and aims to dump treated wastewater into the Colorado River.

One particular issue involved the erection of a chain-link fence, which residents said Musk’s companies promised they would not do. Long-time resident Chap Ambrose is leading the charge to shed more light on Musk’s activities in the region, even if there’s little that can be done to change them.

Much of Musk’s activity is obscured, but there are some things that can’t be hidden. Tesla has an electric vehicle factory and headquarters just west of the Travis/Bastrop county line. Last month, SpaceX started construction on a 521,000-square-foot building across from a property owned by the Boring Co.; the plans for the SpaceX property are not clear.

The Boring Co. has been trying to get city approval to build a massive underground highway that would connect Austin and San Antonio.

The county doesn’t have much sway in slowing Musk down. It may not want to, either, as the same businesses generating controversy are also generating jobs and economic incentives for the area.

“As long as they are communicating with us and as long as they are going in there and filing their permits on time, there’s not a lot whole else we can do,” Bastrop County Commissioner Mel Hamner told the Journal.

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