A town where your landlord is your boss, your neighbours are your coworkers, and one billionaire tech mogul controls the whole place (from the gym to the grocery store) sounds like a Black Mirror episode. But it's becoming a reality, and it's being built right now... right outside Austin, Texas.

So, welcome to Snailbrook! It's Elon Musk's in-progress company town that's back in the headlines and all over TikTok this spring. While he describes it as a utopia for Tesla and SpaceX employees, many viewers are realising its similarity to a dystopia.

Image Credit: SpaceX from Pexels

Why Snailbrook Is Trending Again

Snailbrook is a planned company town in Bastrop County, Texas, funded by Musk's companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company. The project made headlines last year, but it's trending again now in 2025, thanks to a wave of new reports and viral TikTok videos.

Several news outlets recently resurfaced the story, revealing that Snailbrook's construction is moving fast. Musk reportedly wants employees to live close to their workplaces and enjoy cheap rent and exclusive amenities. Next, one viral TikTok showed drone footage of Snailbrook's layout, and viewers were not happy about it. Meanwhile, local Texans are raising red flags about transparency and environmental impact.

For context: Company towns are places where a single employer owns most or all of the housing, stores, and public spaces. They were popular during the Industrial Revolution (like Pullman, Illinois), and while they were supposed to make life easier for workers, they usually came with consequences, too.

Basically, if you lose your job, you lose your home. Speak out? Your life would probably be upended. And now Elon Musk is bringing this idea back, but with a sleek, tech-y aesthetic.

Image Credit: Anete Lusina from Pexels

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The Problem With Musk's Version of 'Utopia'

What makes Snailbrook controversial is that if employees lose their jobs, they reportedly have to vacate their company-owned homes within 30 days. It's one thing to be underpaid or overworked. It's another thing to live in a place where you can be evicted just for quitting your job.

Sure, Musk says rent will be below-market, but that affordability might come at the cost of your freedom, privacy, and ability to separate your personal life from work.

Snailbrook isn't the only example. Musk has also been pushing development in Starbase, Texas, where SpaceX has a large facility. That town is now officially recognised by the state, and it's 100% connected to his companies.

Musk says he's building Snailbrook as a solution. Yet, it feels more like a symptom of a culture where billionaires dream of building cities while others struggle to afford rent or take mental health days.

For Gen Z, who already live online, work remotely, and have blurred lines between personal and professional life, this model could be a dangerous next step.

Image Credit: Pixabay from Pexels

Would You Actually Live There?

Some people think Snailbrook sounds efficient and cool. Others say it's a step toward corporate control. Either way, it matters.

If you:

• Like the idea of living close to work or school
• Think a community of coworkers sounds convenient
• Wouldn’t mind lower rent (even if it comes from your employer)
• Are used to blurred lines between work and life anyway

Then maybe Snailbrook sounds ideal.

But if you:

• Need space between your job and personal life
• Don't want your boss to also control your housing
• Would feel trapped if speaking out meant losing your home
• Want more freedom

You're definitely not alone.

Someday soon, it might not be just Musk doing this, and we, Gen Z, will be the ones working, renting, and living in these spaces.

Is this really what we want the future to look like?