One Texas landowner is offering Elon Musk 100 acres of free land as an incentive for him to move Twitter’s headquarters to the Lone Star State.
Jim Schwertner, CEO of Schwertner Farms, has offered up the prime real estate just 38 miles north of Austin.
“Elon Musk, Move Twitter to Schwertner, TX. 38 Miles North of Austin in Williamson County, and we will give you 100 Acres for FREE,” Schwertner tweeted.
Elon Musk, Move Twitter to Schwertner, TX. 38 Miles North of Austin in Williamson County, and we will give you 100 Acres for FREE
— Jim Schwertner (@JimSchwertner1) April 26, 2022
Schwertner Farms, with more than 20,000 acres in Williamson and Bell Counties, also shared details regarding his new offer with the Austonian.
“We think it’s a good idea, especially when you’ve got Samsung coming to Taylor,” Schwertner told the outlet. “I mean, this area is exploding and we want to be part of this explosive growth.”
Three of Musk’s other companies — Tesla, SpaceX, and the Boring Company — are all operating in Texas.
“I just think with all the stuff he’s done, he evidently likes Texas, right or he wouldn’t have moved from California,” Schwertner said during the interview. “And I want to be part of his plan if he’ll come visit with us.”
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott first invited Musk to move Twitter from California to the Lone Star State after the billionaire’s purchase of the social media platform on Monday.
Abbott shared the invitation on Monday evening after the announcement of Musk’s offer to purchase Twitter had been approved.
“@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company,” Abbott wrote.
.@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 25, 2022
Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, told Cal Matters: “Even after Elon Musk announced Tesla’s move to Texas, they expanded in California. And Elon has started all of his businesses in California, presumably because he knows this is where innovation and talent lives. … Governor Abbott should focus on the people and business whose employees feel threatened, attacked and intimidated by his misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ agenda.”
Though there are no announced plans regarding a move, it hasn’t stopped the speculation from spreading.
“It’s no surprise that there is speculation about Elon Musk moving Twitter’s headquarters to one of if not the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, especially after having already announced relocating Tesla here,” Laura Huffman, president and CEO of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, told KXAN-TV Monday.
“It’s no secret we have so much to offer companies looking to expand or relocate their offices. We have several key components driving our meteoric success,” she added.
The potential move would not be the first social media platform to come to Texas. Meta (formerly known as Facebook) has added a new major office location in downtown Austin.
Twitter’s current headquarters in San Francisco reopened in March following nearly two years of working from home during the pandemic. When it reopened, CEO Parag Agrawal announced an open policy regarding in-office work.
Here’s the announcement to the company about our approach and commitment to truly flexible work. pic.twitter.com/XPl86HuQqG
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) March 3, 2022
Musk also created a poll prior to buying Twitter to ask users, “Convert Twitter SF HQ to homeless shelter since no one shows up anyway[?]”
More than 1.5 million votes were cast, with more than 91% of respondents answering yes.
Musk later wrote about the idea, “I’m serious about this one btw.”
I’m serious about this one btw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2022