Elon Musk, not looking at Houston (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In recent years, every time Elon Musk proposes a new Tesla or Boring Company or SpaceX project in Texas, Houston tends to stand there awkwardly like the one kid not getting picked for kickball. It’s something locals can’t help but notice.
Is it something they said? Is it the humidity? Is it because that viral Cybertruck crash occurred in Houston? Plenty of crashes occur in Houston. It’s almost part of the culture.
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Musk obviously loves Austin with the Gigafactory and proposed semiconductor facilities. He builds SpaceX test facilities just outside Waco, a Tesla battery in Corpus Christi, and a launchpad in South Texas with the newly named town of Starbase.
Wait, I’m not done making Houston feel left out.
The Woodlands, which scoffs at the idea of being part of Houston yet is somewhat connected anyway, watched with baited breath while being considered for the upcoming Boring Tunnel projects. But the Woodlanders lost out to New Orleans, Baltimore, and most painfully, Dallas. The company even hinted at helping with a tunnel to support Morgan’s Wonderland theme park, in San Antonio.
A view of the skyline in downtown Houston, Texas. Not pictured: an Elon Musk project (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
So where does that leave Houston? With little but nascent hopes, windy lots and eyes squinting at all the projects a little outside the city proper. It leaves local Tesla and Boring fans glancing with envy over at other Texas cities and crying out, “Why not us? When’s going to be our time, lord? We like cool, over-ambitious projects that take forever, too!”
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Each announcement seems to leave a scar on Houston’s ego, not that H-Town hasn’t been flirted with on occasion. There’s been equally vague hints about Boring creating tunnels to assist with flood control in Houston. A housing development in Houston is powered by Tesla technology, SpaceX obviously works with NASA on an ongoing basis, and there are a handful of projects just outside of Houston, like a proposed Brookshire battery plant. But as much as Houston tries to claim everything around it by saying towns are in the “Houston area,” doing so with Brookshire is pushing it a bit.
Sure there have been slight projects in the past, but what have you done for Houston lately? At this rate, it looks like Mars, which Musk talks about building on like it’s two weeks away, is going to have a stronger Tesla presence than Houston. “At least it’s a dry heat,” one can imagine him saying sometime in the future.
Granted, some may like it this way. Musk is a rather polarizing figure and there are probably numerous defiant Bluesky users reacting to the lack of projects in Houston with, “Good! We’re full.” Houston, they mean, not Bluesky. Bluesky is not even close to being full.
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It’s one of those things that Houstonians try not to read too much into. Besides, plenty of energy and tech companies have recently made their home there, with Houston coming in fourth for the most corporate headquarters relocations from 2018 to 2024, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, and Murphy Oil. Of course, Dallas and Austin came in ahead of Houston, but that’s neither here nor there.
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 16: A Tesla is covered with graffiti after its owner decided to protest against Elon Musk at a Tesla facility in Houston, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
As for Musk, it remains to be seen whether he can see past the Austin, Dallas and San Antonio skylines into the wide open, beckoning lands that Houston has to offer. The regulatory waters are nice and warm, and any environmental issues that may come up can just be blamed on nearby Pasadena.
Come on, Elon. No city knows traffic better than Houston. Maybe build a Boring Tunnel for people or cattle during a future Rodeo. Put some Astros on the moon. And perhaps get a few Optimus robots to pick up the trash and help with TSA lines. It doesn’t matter what the particular project is, it’s the thought that counts.
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Houston’s just feeling a bit needy right now. They’ll probably even settle for a few mentions in your sometimes nutty Tweets.
