WAITING FOR ELON
Bloomberg Businessweek|April 19, 2021
It’s not easy to compete with Miami and Austin for high-tech jobs. But Adelanto, Calif., which boasts a light regulatory environment, an enthusiastic city manager, and plenty of dirt, is giving it a shot
Sarah McBride
WAITING FOR ELON

One night two Januaries ago, Jessie Flores made a series of frantic calls and texts to his deputies, with a request: Could they clear their schedules to get to Elon Musk’s offices in Los Angeles for a meeting?

Flores is the city manager of Adelanto, Calif., a scrubby, mountain-shadowed city of 37,000 in the southwestern Mojave Desert known chiefly for its prisons. Adelanto’s mayor, Gabriel Reyes, is a currency trader who works out of a ramshackle strip-mall office in nearby Hesperia. But mayor is a part-time gig here, and the city manager, who’s appointed by the city council, is the full-time chief executive—in charge of finance, land use, and economic development.

Over lunch with the mayor and a county supervisor, Flores had recently learned of an unusual opportunity. Musk—whose two companies, SpaceX and Tesla Inc., had made him either the world’s richest or second-richest man, depending on the day—had a sideline in rapid transit. His Boring Co. is developing a point-to-point travel system that moves passengers in 12-foot-diameter tunnels. It recently finished a tunnel below the Las Vegas Convention Center and is in talks to build one in Ontario, Calif. The county supervisor, who’d worked on the Ontario project, mentioned to Flores that Musk was looking for a place with enough room and a flexible enough regulatory environment for the Boring Co. where it could practice digging as it improves its tunneling machines. Adelanto, the supervisor suggested, might be a good fit.

Denne historien er fra April 19, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra April 19, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKSe alt
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023