Texas rancher offers Elon Musk free land for Twitter HQ, says Texas is the place to be
The longtime rancher said his only goal is help his local community
A Texas rancher and businessman is hoping to entice new Twitter owner Elon Musk to central Texas, offering up free land for Musk to build a new headquarters for the company.
"Elon Musk, Move Twitter to Schwertner, TX. 38 Miles North of Austin in Williamson County, and we will give you 100 Acres for FREE," said Jim Schwertner, the CEO and President of Capitol Land & Livestock, on Twitter Tuesday.
Elon Musk (REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
Schwertner's offer garnered attention from local media outlets, but the longtime rancher said his only goal is to help his local community.
"I am very serious about the offer," Schwertner told Fox Business Thursday, noting that the land he is offering is worth millions of dollars.
Schwertner pointed out that the location of the property would be perfect for Musk, who has already expanded the footprint of Tesla in central Texas. He noted that Schwertner metro area is "growing fast," projected to add another 450,000 in population by 2050.
But unlike California, the current location of Twitter's headquarters, Schwertner pointed out that the location north of Austin offers "affordable housing and places to live."
Photo illustration the logo of Twitter can be seen on a smartphone. ((Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The land Twitter could build on is right now "mainly ranching and farm land," Schwertner said, but pointed out that it has "good access" to I-35 and enjoys "good infrastructure" that is already in place.
Schwertner said the area could serve as a "new frontier for Elon," while boasting that the area is "very conservative" and has "a lot of good labor and smart people."
But the Texas businessman isn't the only person trying to tempt Musk to their location, with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry also calling on Musk to bring the company to Florida.
Musk, who recently reached an agreement with Twitter on a mammoth $44 billion purchase of the company, moved Tesla's headquarters from California to Texas last year, citing the cost of living in California as one of the primary reasons.
Elon Musk ((Photo by Patrick Pleul - Pool/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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"It’s tough for people to afford houses and a lot of people have to come in from far away," Musk said at the time. "We’ve taken it as far as possible but…there’s a limit to how big you can scale it in the Bay Area."
Musk made the personal move to Texas as well, becoming a resident of Austin in 2020.