Aug. 2—Nothing's official, but Elon Musk may be building his own airport near Austin.
The Tesla CEO, who moved to Texas from California in late 2020, flies to and from Austin regularly to check in on his EV maker's Gigafactory Texas and his other ventures in the state. Those include private space flight company SpaceX and tunneling business The Boring Co.
Now, Musk is reported to be planning a private airport east of Austin, according to Austin news site Austonia.
Without identifying them, Austonia reported "multiple sources" confirmed there are conceptual plans for such a private facility near Bastrop.
On Monday, Bastrop County officials said they were unaware of such plans.
"There has been no formal communication with the county regarding this airport," said Adena Lewis, director of tourism and economic development in Bastrop.
The Boring Co., SpaceX and Tesla didn't respond to requests for comment.
To build a private airport, Musk would need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and be required to follow the agency's environmental standards.
Such a facility could provide Musk access to The Boring Co.'s headquarters, which is 3 miles from Austin Executive Airport. The Tesla electric vehicle manufacturing gigafactory is 15 miles from that private airport and 5 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
SpaceX's rocket testing facility in McGregor is located about 97 miles north of the city-owned airport.
Musk, who currently travels mainly in a 2015 Gulfstream G650ER, has ordered a Gulfstream 6700, according to multiple sources. The $78 million aircraft is expected to be delivered in early 2023.
According to public flight plan data, Musk has made several landings and takeoffs from Austin on his Gulfstream in the past two weeks, a schedule not out of the ordinary based on reviews of his plane's activity. Here's a look:
On July 18, Musk returned to Austin from Greece. He left later the same day for Long Beach, Calif.
On July 21, he flew from Long Beach to Brownsville — near his SpaceX Starship compound in Boca Chica — and from there back to Austin.
Tuesday, he flew from Austin to San Jose, Calif.
Wednesday, he returned to Austin from San Jose.
Thursday, he flew from Austin to Brownsville.
Friday, he returned to Austin from Brownsville.
The possibility of Musk building a private airport comes after Tesla made a deal with a Mexico state to open a dedicated lane to fast-track border crossings at the Colombia Solidarity checkpoint, upriver from Laredo, Bloomberg reported last month. Nuevo Leon, which has at least six suppliers for Tesla, borders the United States for about 10 miles.
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