Musk's Texas operations are growing. According to news on December 9, according to public records, the real estate owned by Elon Musk’s company in Texas is worth US$2.5 billion, and its value has increased by more than 400% in the past five years.
An analysis of relevant data shows that the assessed value of real estate held by Musk's companies has increased by more than 400% in the past five years, thanks to rising land values and property prices. Much of this can be attributed to two major investments: Tesla's Gigafactory near Austin and SpaceX's launch site in southern Texas.
It's unclear how much land Musk's companies acquired, and Texas doesn't require disclosure of actual property sales prices. Each county's local government assessor's office assesses the market value of land and property annually for tax purposes.
The actual market value of real estate held by Musk's companies may be higher than the appraisal results. Matt Holm, owner of an Austin real estate company and president of the Tesla Owners’ Club Austin, said most property owners will hire lawyers to lower their real estate valuations in order to pay less land taxes. In this case, the value of land owned by Musk's companies may be higher.
Musk's company has been busy acquiring local land. According to aggregate data, SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company have completed at least 346 real estate acquisitions in Texas in the past five years, which does not include Musk’s personal real estate.
Musk moved to Texas in December 2020 out of dissatisfaction with California's regulatory environment and high taxes. It's unclear whether he personally owns real estate there. In 2021, Musk said that he rented a house in Boca Chica, southern Texas, for $50,000, and that he only owned one house in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Also in 2020, Tesla revealed that it would build a new Gigafactory project in Travis County, Austin. Musk later promised it would be a $10 billion investment.
Tesla's Texas Gigafactory is the main reason why Musk's companies invest in local real estate in Texas to increase value. Land acquisition data from the Travis County Local Government Assessor’s Office shows Tesla has been acquiring land there since 2018 with an initial value of $342 million. As of last month, Tesla had invested about $1.9 billion in development-related land, according to public permitting records. Calculated in this way, Tesla’s total local investment in Travis County has exceeded US$2.2 billion.
SpaceX and The Boring Company also have large operations in Texas. The properties held by the companies were assessed at $242 million as of January, according to public appraisal data in the three main counties where they are located.
According to SpaceX, the company’s business activities in Texas are mainly concentrated in Bastrop County, where Starlink’s headquarters is located, and Cameron County. The latter is located on the Gulf Coast of West Texas, where SpaceX's Starship base and the "Brownsville South Texas Launch Site" (Brownsville South Texas Launch Site) are located. In addition, SpaceX has three launch sites, two of which are in Florida and one in California.
Musk's tunneling start-up The Boring Company is headquartered in Bastrop County, where the company owns a piece of land valued at about $3.6 million. Bastrop County borders Austin to the southeast.
As Musk continues to increase his investment in Texas, his relationship with local politicians is getting better and better. Before the Texas Gigafactory project was launched in 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced the project on social media Twitter. He said, "It was fun getting to know you. Welcome to Texas" and attached a photo of himself and Musk.
Since then, Musk's local influence in Texas has grown.
Musk and Abbott last appeared publicly together in May to break ground on Tesla's lithium refinery in Nueces County. The plant, which reportedly cost $375 million, will receive $16.2 million in tax credits from the Robstown Independent School District over 10 years.