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Elon Musk is looking to lease or purchase property in the Austin area, following his various futuristic companies to the capital of Texas.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has been touring local property along with representatives on his behalf, confirmed realtor Cord Shiflet, who works for the local brokerage firm Moreland Properties. Looking for a residence within reach of his new Tesla factory, he's been seen in area restaurants and around town.
"Mr. Musk did recently look at a property in Austin," Shiflet said. "It seems a lot of his friends, business associates and even family members have been looking in Austin."
Musk, an automotive, space, AI, neuroscience, tunneling, hyperloop pioneer, first told the Wall Street Journal last week of his personal move to Texas, citing the location of the new Tesla Gigafactory in the Austin area and the launch site of SpaceX in South Texas.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he has moved to Texas, becoming one of the highest-profile executives yet to leave Silicon… https://t.co/GDYOnV9S5y— The Wall Street Journal (@The Wall Street Journal) 1607459877.0
Between the two, it seemed likely that he might choose Austin as tech moguls continue to ditch the Silicon Valley for the Hill Country one after another. Musk also recently moved his private Musk Foundation to Austin.
Rumors buzzed of a potential move for the billionaire when, earlier this year, Musk went head to head with the state of California over Tesla's violations of COVID-19 regulations. It sparked a flame that would lead Musk to tweet he would move his Tesla headquarters to Texas or Nevada.
@GerberKawasaki @thirdrowtesla Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to… https://t.co/IDLjEvXyDW— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1589042677.0
A few months after the feud, he announced the location of his new Tesla Gigafactory, which is being built in Southeast Travis County. The under-construction $1.1 billion factory will make the new Model Y vehicle and the Cybertruck, along with the battery packs that power the electric vehicles.
While Musk has not made any announcement about moving the Tesla headquarters to Texas, "Giga Texas" is one of the most important projects he has going on, he told the Wall Street Journal.
By coming to Texas, Musk skips out billions he would have to pay in personal income taxes to the state of California.
Aside from the new Tesla Gigafactory he'd be closer to, there's also Neuralink, Musk's "Fitbit in your skull" startup, and the Boring Company, a tunneling business that's a traffic alternative for autonomous vehicles, both of which were hiring in Austin earlier this year.
Musk recently climbed the ranks of the richest people in the world, reaching the number two spot. In Austin, he would join the ranks of eight other billionaires who call Austin home. He'd knock Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, down from being the wealthiest person in the city.
And aside from the billionaires, there are other high-profile tech moguls in the city, including recent transplant Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox. There's also familiar star power, like Joe Rogan, who has hosted Musk on his podcast.
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(Austonia)
May's second election is here, in which voters will decide on the candidates to represent their party in the November general election after the winner in some March primary races was unclear.
Just like the March primaries, voters will choose which party they choose to vote in. Then based on location, each ballot will show which races are in a runoff.
In Texas, candidates must win at least 50% of the vote to be elected. In the races where the top candidate only received a plurality of votes, a runoff is being held.
Here's everything you need to know before heading to the polls.
Know before you go
Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election begins Monday and will last through May 20; Election Day is May 24.
The registration period for this election has passed; check if you're registered to vote here.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. As long as you're in line by 7 p.m., you can vote.
You'll need a valid photo ID to present once you're at a polling location.
Here are the early voting locations in Travis County.
View wait times at polling locations here.
Races to watch in Travis County:
Statewide
Lieutenant Governor
- Republican: Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Mike Collier and Michelle Beckley are vying to be the Democrat candidate on the ballot.
- Republican: Incumbent AG Ken Paxton is fighting for his seat against George P. Bush.
- Democratic: Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski will face off to be the Democratic candidate in this race.
View all the statewide races on the ballot here.
U.S. House of Representatives
View the district you live in here.
District 21
- Republican: Incumbent Chip Roy won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Claudia Andreana Zapata and Ricardo Villarreal are hoping to secure this vote.
- Republican: Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez are going head to head to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Former Austin council member Greg Casar won this race in March.
District 19
- Republican: Ellen Troxclair and Justin Berry are vying to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Pam Baggett won her primary in March.
Texas has been home to some of the country’s biggest celebrities of all time—think Amarillo resident Georgia O'Keeffe, Lubbock’s Buddy Holly and Corpus Christi’s famous singer Selena.
The Pudding’s People Map of the U.S., which shows each city’s “most Wikipedia’ed” resident, placed celebrities from all walks of life on the Texas map. As for Central Texas celebrities, there are some interesting (and not so surprising) names on deck.
(The Pudding)
Proving that Austin is “alright, alright, alright,” Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey is both Austin’s and Uvalde’s top Wikipedia’ed resident. McConaughey, who was born in San Antonio adjacent Uvalde, has deeply ingrained himself in Austin by studying Radio-Television-Film at UT Austin, starring in the Austin-filmed movie “Dazed and Confused” and investing in Austin FC.
Heading down just a few miles south, San Marcos claimed former president Lyndon Baines Johnson as Texas State University’s most famous alumni, who graduated in 1930, and was also named in Fredericksburg. LBJ wasn’t the only ex-president on the map—George W. Bush was listed as the top resident in Dallas, Midland, Houston and Crawford.
You’ll see some other names with ties to Austin strewn around the state: Janis Joplin in Beaumont and Port Arthur; Stone Cold Steve Austin in Victoria and Edna; Dan Rather in his hometown of Wharton; and Waylon Jennings in Littlefield.
Venturing outside of the central areas, there are big celebrities who call Texas Home. Actress and artist Selena Gomez dominated search traffic in her hometown of Grand Prairie, musical artist Post Malone was most “Wikipedia’ed” in Grapevine, and Shaquille O’Neal was named in the city where he went to high school, San Antonio.
Plus, Thomas Haden Church, Angela Kinsey, Jessica Simpson, Chuck Norris, Roy Orbison, Ron White, Jessica Alba, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Dean and Johnny Manziel all had at least one city covered on the list.
Where’s Texas’ newest resident, Elon Musk? You’ll find him still in Los Angeles, as his foray into Texas living has just begun.
Click here to view the full map.