Elon Musk has made no secret of his desire to colonise Mars, but seemingly not before he’s had a go at running his own community here on Earth.
The SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter owner wants to build a “utopia” called Snailbrook for his workers to live in Texas, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
It would be built outside the state’s capital Austin, near a site for his space company.
The town would also be close to Musk‘s The Boring Company, a tunnel construction firm, based in Bastrop County.
Its proposed name appears to be a reference to the firm’s mascot, a snail named Gary.
According to the newspaper, employees would be charged roughly $800 (£669) a month for one or two-bedroom homes and would have 30 days to leave the premises if they are sacked or resign.
Outdoor sports areas and swimming pools are reportedly among the planned amenities.
At least 3,500 acres of land has been purchased with a view to building the town on the Colorado River, says WSJ, citing county deeds, land records, and emails with local officials.
That’s the same river that The Boring Company wants permission to dump tens of thousands of wastewater into each day.
The company has applied to local environmental authorities to do so, according to local media, and a public meeting is due to take place this month where residents can have their say.
The community would be near this Tesla gigafactory in Austin
Musk has made Texas the home of Boring, SpaceX, and Tesla, having announced plans to move the latter’s headquarters from California over the state’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The multi-billionaire was unhappy that officials would not let him reopen a car factory as the virus spread in 2020.
Musk would likely hope that a company town would give him more sway over how things are run, though his chaotic Twitter tenure has brought his treatment of staff under the spotlight.
Thousands of people were laid off in the immediate aftermath of his takeover last October, and more quit after he demanded they sign up to a “hardcore” work culture.
It later emerged that bedrooms had been set up at the social media company’s San Francisco office.