Marc Lore, former CEO of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce operations, co-founder of Quidsi and Jet.com, and co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, has a new passion.
He wants to create a Utopian city somewhere in America.
The city is called Telosa, and Lore has aspirations of moving 50,000 people there by 2030.
Telosa’s website calls the project, “Creating a more equitable and sustainable future.”
The plan is to build the city in the deserts of the American West or in Appalachia. USA Today reports the vision involves an amalgam of equality and capitalism, dubbed "equitism."
Lore asked, “What if you could pay the same taxes that you pay today but get the best social services of any country in the world?"
In the website’s video, Lore described the city as “diverse as New York City, combined with efficiency, safety and cleanliness of Tokyo, combined with the social services, the sustainability and the governance model of Stockholm.”
Telosa would allow its citizens to build and sell their own homes, while the city would keep ownership of the land. Under the proposal, the proceeds from land appreciation would help fund health care, public education and sustainable environmental practices. Taxes would go toward infrastructure, Lore told the paper.
While wandering the streets of Telosa, one would spot autonomous vehicles, a high-speed rail system and the beacon of the city, a futuristic skyscraper named Equitism Tower, officials said.
The website says fresh water would be stored, cleaned and reused on-site, renewable resources would power the city, and the environment would always be a priority.
When it’s all said and done, Telosa’s total cost is projected to be over $400 billion. If all goes according to plan, the land’s worth could eclipse $1 trillion.
Anyone who desires to be among the first 50,000 settlers of Telosa will need to be selected through an application. The selection process has yet to be decided.
