Not so many years ago, the County of Bastrop southeast of Austin was a quiet, rural area characterized by farms and ranches.
While a tranquil, bucolic foil to nearby Austin populated by long-term residents and retirees, it was beginning to experience some growth pressure due to Austin’s expansion. However, it retained a small-town atmosphere.
And then Elon Musk arrived.
Musk made his first major investment in Bastrop County in July 2021, setting up his cutting-edge tunneling venture, The Boring Company, on 73 acres of land. The company today employs around 200 people.
Musk’s next move came in 2023 when SpaceX opened its nearby Starlink manufacturing facility that produces ground-based receivers for Musk’s satellite internet venture. The factory has since doubled its size, creating at least 1,000 fulltime jobs, while boosting the economy and supporting local construction firms.
Musk continues to expand Starlink’s footprint in Bastrop. There are reports of a planned half million square foot expansion of his Space Exploration Technologies Corp. factory to house a SpaceX semiconductor research and advanced packaging facility. The factory is already 1.1 million square feet but with the expansion could become one of the largest buildings in the area and create more than 400 new jobs.
Several hundred more jobs arrived in Bastrop County in September 2024 when Musk moved X’s headquarters from San Francisco to the area.
Thirty miles away in Travis County is Tesla’s Gigafactory. It’s Musk’s largest single impact on the regional economy. Opened in 2020, the factory employs between 10,000 and 20,000 people and continues to expand. Musk’s hi-tech medical research firm Neuralink is also in Travis County.
There were several reasons why Musk chose Texas to be the heart of his corporate empire. His well-published political and social views mesh well in this Republican stronghold.
However, much of the state’s attraction has to do with the favorable tax and regulatory regime that has made Texas a relocation favourite for businesses.
According to the Office of the Texas Governor, the state attracted more than 1,400 business location and expansion projects in 2025, representing more than $75 billion in capital investment and creating more than 42,000 new jobs, more than twice the total number of projects of the second-ranked state in the country.
It is estimated entities tied or connected to Musk and his companies in Bastrop County now occupy several thousands of acres. Thanks in large part to Musk and the investment magnet created by his companies, the population of Bastrop County has expanded to over 117,000 in 2026, and is projected to increase to about 130,000 in the next five years.
While many of Musk’s employees commute from nearby Austin, others are moving to the immediate area. In addition to the several thousand new homes that have popped up over the past few years around Bastrop County, nearly 2,000 more are currently going through local approval processes.
Musk himself has initiated plans for a “self-sustaining” company town called Snailbrook, providing reasonable rental housing on 3,500 acres for employees of his Bastrop and Travis County enterprises. Snailbrook today has a “Boring Bodega” which acts as a restaurant, café and merchandise store, plus a pub, salon, pickleball court and small mobile home residential units. As has been the case with previous Musk ventures, there are concerns about environmental impacts and local governance
Musk’s influence on the City of Bastrop itself is clear. Although the city remains relatively quiet with a population of approximately 14,000, within its boundary is the 263-acre Bastrop Business and Industrial Park established by the city in 1996.
Today, the park represents a wide variety of international companies. These include Korean electric power equipment maker LS Electric Co. Ltd., Canadian adhesives maker Technical Adhesives Ltd., Mexican Tortilla chips maker Coltzin LLC, and U.K. clinical trial supply company Caligor Cohglan. The Bastrop Economic Development Council (BDEC) is also reportedly in discussions with Swiss-based aerospace, defense, and transportation developer Acutronic concerning a potential 20,000 square foot facility.
Although somewhat challenged by infrastructure limitations such as utility connections and road access, Bastrop leaders and the BEDC continue to search for companies to fill the 100 acres or so that remains undeveloped.
Bastrop County is very happy about Musk and the regional impact of his investments.
“He really put us on the map, as far as industry goes, and he’s really helped open the doors for awareness of Bastrop County, in my view,” County Commissioner David Glass told local media. “That awareness has really brought us great deals.”
At the same time, Musk’s corporate plans change almost daily.
“The priorities really move. Sometimes it’s frustrating for us as officials, but we’re there to support in what we can,” Glass said.
