About the spaceport in Brownsville and the Texas government money; it is my understanding that the area in question either has no extant water service or that the service is insufficient to the needs of a spaceport. Could be the various Texas government entities involved have agreed to pony up for bigger mains and/or an on-site reservoir big enough to handle sound dampening for a Falcon Heavy launch.

A sale-leaseback deal for one’s HQ building is a time-tested way for a corporation to boost cash flow. Once a company is well enough established that it represents a minimal risk going forward, there is no shortage of real estate outfits and/or banks eager to do such deals. They’re less risky than spec-building comparable facilities, involve no construction lead-time and result in money coming in to the lessor right away. All of these pluses are attractive, especially in a soft commercial real estate market like Southern California’s. I’m thinkiing Elon was able to negotiate a very sweet deal.