BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Elon Musk’s Central Texas footprint continues to grow. The billionaire named Bastrop as its new headquarters for his social media site X.
Musk already has two other companies in that area: Space X and The Boring Company. He also has Hyperloop Plaza, a facility owned by The Boring Company. It is fitted with a bodega, salon and a pub.
“He’s acquired a lot of property in Bastrop County. I think it’s a natural addition for X to be co-located,” said Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino.
Population boom
Carrillo-Trevino said Musk’s multiple companies contributed to the growth in the area. She said they expect a 42% population increase in the next five years.
As these expansions continue, Carrillo-Trevino said the city will prioritize water and road improvements.
“Our community has said transportation and traffic is the number one quality of life driver,” Carrillo-Trevino said. “We’re working on a master sidewalk plan. How do you move people? And not just move people to put a sidewalk in front of a sidewalk, but how do you really move people in a multimodal way?”
Even with all these additions, there’s something they’re working hard not to remove.
“I want to retain Bastrop’s history and charm.”
Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino, Bastrop City Manager
Carrillo-Trevino said part of that means preserving the downtown area where many small businesses thrive. She said they help businesses financially through a loan program.
Along with that, the city provides support on how to maximize retail space and train on web marketing. Carrillo-Trevino said she also tracks how businesses are doing month-to-month.
“I run a sales tax report every single month,” Carrillo-Trevino said. “I go, ‘Okay, this one’s struggling. We have to go pay attention. Let’s go pay them a visit. What happened? They didn’t pay their sales tax bill, or taxes are down for them this month? What happened?'”
‘Small town charm’
Bastrop artists like Mike Salvo said small businesses are the heartbeat of the city.
Salvo works alongside four other local artists where they sell their work in a downtown shop called R.A. Green Mercantile.
“In order for us to maintain this awesome, distinctive downtown, small town charm that we have, we have to have businesses that are thriving,” Salvo said.