Like it or not, Elon Musk is everywhere. His cars drive on our roads, his rockets fly over our heads, and his every random thought fills our social media feeds. Now imagine if he was also taking over your hometown.
That’s the reality for Bastrop, Texas, a historic town with a population of around 12,000 about 40 minutes outside of Austin. The county it’s in has become a base for Musk’s ever-expanding coterie of companies, with satellite-based internet provider Starlink and tunneling startup Boring Company all operating out of facilities within its limits, and Tesla and brain chip company Neuralink nearby. Soon, the company formerly known as Twitter, also owned by Musk, will break ground on its new headquarters in Bastrop, and more than 100 X employees in Austin have been encouraged to make the tiny town their new home.
My colleague Jessica Mathews traveled twice to Bastrop to report a feature on its transformation for our latest Fortune issue, in which Musk is No. 1 in our inaugural ranking of the Most Powerful People in Business. She explored all sorts of oddities, from a Buc-ee’s parking lot full of Tesla charging stations to a Musk-owned Montessori school, but mostly spent time speaking with local residents about the bizarre takeover of their cowboy town, which was one of the last holdouts of the wave of Austin gentrification. “I’ve been saying for months that it’s like a flying saucer landed,” one local attorney told her.
I caught up with Mathews to chat about her fascinating article, and how she even approaches reporting on Musk’s sprawling empire. (Lest you forget, she has written terrific investigations on the Boring Company’s misadventures in Las Vegas.) “There’s just this looming uncertainty within this whole town of what’s going to happen,” she told me.
Despite his constant presence in our lives, Musk still occupies this almost mythic, intangible status, which is even more true for Bastrop. No one who Mathews spoke with had actually seen him in the flesh, which is a reality she also faced trying to get an interview with him, or anyone at his web of companies. (Believe it or not, they’re not the biggest fans of the traditional media.)
And while Musk can often evoke a guttural reaction from people, Mathews encountered a diverse range of emotions toward the creeping presence of his companies. Some people were disturbed by the prospect of rising home prices and the environmental threats of industrial development, especially given the Boring Company’s track record. But others pointed to the participation of Musk employees in local life, such as rocket firm SpaceX offering some of its land to a county organization to be used for soccer fields. Surprisingly, none of Musk’s companies have asked for tax abatements, according to a Bastrop County commissioner. There appear to be genuine attempts to engage with—and invest in—the community.
Really, it just seems like everyone in the town is holding their breath and waiting to see what will happen. Residents also have more immediate concerns, such as a local scandal involving their mayor having an affair with the head of the city’s tourism nonprofit and allegedly interfering in an investigation over the misuse of city funds. The mayor’s attorney has denied any misuse or coverup.
“It’s telling, in and of itself, because even when I was there, there was a lot of other stuff going on,” Mathews said.
Is Bastrop really some sort of metaphor for all of us? That maybe we should spend less time fretting over Musk’s takeover of the U.S. economy and government—President-elect Trump named him cohead of the Department of Government Efficiency— and pay more attention to local news? I wouldn’t dare go that far. But if you do happen to find yourself in Bastrop, you can charge your Tesla at the Buc-ee’s while you order a chorizo breakfast burrito. Or, as Mathews recommended, a calzone at a local restaurant called Neighbor’s, which has a patio overlooking the Colorado River.
“The town has so much personality,” Mathews said. It’s about to have a whole lot more.
You can read her full article here.
Leo Schwartz
Twitter: @leomschwartz
Email: leo.schwartz@fortune.com
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