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- Since 2020, all of Elon Musk’s major companies have moved their headquarters to Texas.
- Satellite images show how SpaceX, Tesla, X, and The Boring Company have expanded in recent years.
- Texas may be Musk’s new business hub, but it’s not the only place he’s expanding.
You don’t have to spy from space to know Elon Musk is growing his business empire in Texas, but it shows just how massive his impact is becoming.
This week, Musk announced he plans to step back from the DOGE office in May to focus more time on Tesla. Before Tuesday, Tesla stock was down 44% this year.
Musk has said that he’s led his companies “with great difficulty” during his time with DOGE. His stepping back might give him more time to refocus on his other core companies, too, all of which have a growing footprint in Texas.
In the late 2010s, Musk had grown increasingly discontent with California laws and regulations and decided that Texas offered a more business-friendly environment.
So, in 2020, Musk’s tunneling firm, The Boring Company, moved its headquarters from California to Texas, followed by Tesla in 2021 and X and SpaceX in 2024. Musk’s smaller companies, Neuralink and X.AI, also have ties to Texas.
The satellite images below show his business’s exponential growth across the Lone Star state over the last few years, and what Musk has in store next. Musk did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
SpaceX bought land in Texas in 2012 near Boca Chica Village. The small community near the Mexico border had about 30 homes back then.
Maxar
To make way for its new rocket launch site — Starbase — SpaceX tried to buy out locals, telling some it was “not safe” to live there anymore. Many took the buyout, some stayed.
Maxar
SpaceX is testing the world’s largest rocket at Starbase. Potential pollution from launches and explosions has some environmentalists concerned for nearby water systems and wildlife habitats.
Maxar / Business Insider
About 500 people now live in Boca Chica, even Musk has a home there. On May 3, its residents are scheduled to vote on whether to make Starbase its own city.
Maxar / Business Insider
About 350 miles north is Bastrop, which has gone from featureless farmland to a massive corporate campground for several of Musk’s companies.
Maxar / Business Insider
Recently, Texas awarded SpaceX a $17.3 million grant to expand its Starlink satellite manufacturing facility in Bastrop. Headquarters for X and The Boring Company are also here.
Maxar / Business Insider
Satellite images suggest that The Boring Company’s machines are building tunnels under the road.
Maxar / Business Insider
Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, is also planning to expand in the Austin area by building a $14.7 million facility in Del Valle.
Future Publishing
In addition to corporate and manufacturing facilities, Musk is expanding his educational footprint in Texas, too. Just down the road in Bastrop is the Ad Astra school for ages 3-9.
Maxar / Business Insider
Musk is also planning on building 110 homes on a plot near the Ad Astra school. He’s calling the housing development “Project Amazing.”
Maxar / Business Insider
Musk opened another Ad Astra school in Brownsville, near Boca Chica, that closed in 2023. SpaceX recently filed a permit to start construction on a new Ad Astra, which is estimated to cost $20,000,000.
Maxar / Business Insider
Texas isn’t the only place where Musk is expanding his business. Tesla has a gigafactory in China…
Maxar / Business Insider
…and another in Grünheide, Germany. It’s Tesla’s first manufacturing plant in Europe.
Maxar / Business Insider