High fences make bad neighbors.
At least that’s what those living near Elon Musk’s “Fort Knox” high-walled compound near Austin, Texas, claim — including allegations that the mogul’s security forces called the cops on one neighbor for allegedly standing naked in the street.
Paul Hemmer, a retired real estate agent and head of the neighborhood homeowners association in West Lake Hills, has been among the most vocal residents complaining about Musk’s alleged zoning code violations.
He told the New York Times that he has been under constant surveillance from Musk’s security cameras, which were installed on the grounds of a property that the billionaire mogul purchased with the intention of merging with two other adjacent lots to serve as a compound for him, his 13 kids and their mothers.
“I call that place Fort Knox,” Hemmer told the Times.
Last year, Musk’s security team accused Hemmer of indecent behavior, alleging he was nude outside his home.
Hemmer denied that he was naked and said he was on his property wearing black underwear.
On another occasion, Hemmer stopped to urinate while walking his dog — which Musk’s security surveillance captured.
“The cameras got me,” Hemmer told the Times. “It’s scary they have guys sitting and watching me pee.”
Hemmer’s outrage at Musk prompted him to fly a video-equipped drone over his property in a bid to document alleged violations, the Times reported.
Hemmer and other residents of an upscale cul-de-sac in West Lake Hills, an affluent suburb just west of Austin, launched a formal complaint against Musk after he moved in to their neighborhood in 2022.
The world’s richest man — whose portfolio of companies includes Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink, — purchased the $6 million, 6,900-square-foot mansion through a limited liability company.
Musk’s arrival in the neighborhood, however, was anything but subtle as neighbors soon observed unsettling changes, the Times reported.
Workers installed a towering 16-foot chain-link fence around the property — significantly exceeding local height restrictions — accompanied by outward-facing surveillance cameras.
The fence is 10 feet higher than zoning ordinances permit, according to the Times.
Traffic congestion soon became another sore point.
Residents noted fleets of vehicles, particularly Teslas, routinely parked on their previously serene streets.
Security personnel, identifiable by their firearm holsters, changed shifts three times daily, adding to neighborhood frustrations, according to the Times.
The scale of the construction also violated at least six city ordinances, the Times reported.
Musk’s representatives sought to retroactively gain permission for the various construction projects in and around the property, but were denied last month, according to the outlet.
Hemmer, whose house is located across the street from Musk’s compound, voiced his irritation in a formal complaint to the city.
“Transporting service employees to other houses, leaving their cars on our quiet streets, hauling laundry to and fro to other houses has to stop,” he wrote in the complaint.
Hemmer and other neighbors formally appealed to the West Lake Hills Zoning and Planning Commission, stating that Musk was effectively operating a security business from his residence.
Last month, the commission unanimously sided with the neighbors.
Commissioner Jim Pledger emphasized the seriousness of the infractions, declaring: “If an exception was made, we’d incentivize people to break the rules.”
The West Lake Hills city council will review the zoning commission’s decision on May 14. Musk faces a potential mandate to dismantle his non-compliant installations.
In a bid to justify Musk’s actions, his representatives cited ongoing security threats to the billionaire.
Longtime resident Anne Yeakel questioned Musk’s decision to move to the neighborhood.
“Castles are supposed to be built on hills, right?” she remarked.
“These were sophisticated buyers, and if security was the prime directive, this was not the house for it.”
