Elon Musk has purchased thousands of acres of land outside Austin, Texas, for a small new city where his employees can live for below-market rent, The Wall Street Journal reports(Opens in a new window).
Austin-area rents have skyrocketed in recent years as the city has seen an influx of new residents and tech companies bringing high salaries. Musk has described his vision as a "utopia" along the Colorado River, according to the Journal. The site is already under construction, and it includes a pool, outdoor sports area, and a group of modular homes.
Eventually, it will include 110 homes plus a separate, private residential compound for Musk. One of the nation's largest home builders, Lennar(Opens in a new window), is building the homes. The company refers to the work under the codename "Project Awesome," the Austin Business Journal reports(Opens in a new window).
Musk has also reportedly sought design advice from Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, as well as West's architectural designer. Musk's ex-girlfriend and mother of two(Opens in a new window) of his 10 children, Claire Boucher, a DJ/musician known as Grimes, is also involved with planning, the Journal says.
Despite the high-profile creative collaborators, the town has a decidedly uncool name: Snailbrook. A sign hanging from a pole outside its borders reads, "welcome to snailbrook, tx, est. 2021." So far, its streets have names such as “Boring Boulevard,” “Waterjet Way” and “Cutterhead Crossing,” according to county documents reviewed by the Journal.
The name is a reference to Gary the snail, a character in the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants. Gary is the mascot of Musk's tunneling business, The Boring Company, as Musk has charged the company with creating machines
UPS
Citi
Pool
Tesla
Reuters
SpaceX
Sporting
IT
Kanye West