Elon Musk has already built a spaceport — now, according to a report, he could build a private airport in Texas.
The airport was to be built in Bastrop, Texas, east of Austin, Austonia reported, citing multiple sources. An exact location and start date for construction is unknown, but the publication reports that conceptual plans exist.
However, according to the San Antonio Express News, provincial officials in Bastrop said they knew nothing of Musk’s plans to build an airport.
“There has been no formal communication with the province about this airport,” Adena Lewis, director of tourism and economic development in Bastrop, told the newspaper.
A private airport would be convenient for Tesla’s CEO, who regularly flies to Austin Executive Airport to oversee the electric vehicle company’s new Gigafactory, a SpaceX test site, and Boring Co’s tunneling business. – all in the Austin area. In late 2021, Musk officially moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, citing the high cost of living in the Golden State.
Musk has landed and taken off from Austin several times in the past two weeks, including from Greece on July 18. He left Austin that same day and flew to Long Beach, California, according to Express News. Since then, he has returned to Austin five times.
The billionaire flies on a 2015 Gulfstream G650ER and will reportedly upgrade to a Gulfstream 6700, expected to ship in early 2023. To build the private airport, Musk still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In July, Tesla struck a deal with a Mexican state to open a dedicated border crossing strip for Tesla’s Mexican suppliers, Bloomberg reported.
