Elon Musk set his sights on making Starbase a city for years. The tech billionaire made that a reality on Saturday.
Residents of Starbase went to the polls to vote on a measure incorporating the area as an official city. More than two-thirds of eligible voters worked for SpaceX, Musk’s rocket-making company, or expressed their support for the incorporation vote, according to an analysis from KUT. The election was a landslide, with 212 in favor and six against, according to the Cameron County Elections Department.
“Starbase, Texas is now a real city!” Musk said on X.
Meanwhile, over 60 nearby residents protested against the Starbase election at Boca Chica Beach on election day. As The Barbed Wire previously reported, lots of people aren’t happy about SpaceX’s operation in the Rio Grande Valley. Multiple Valley-based organizations have pursued legal complaints and long warned of SpaceX’s environmental impacts. In 2024, SpaceX was regularly dumping more than 30,000 gallons of wastewater into South Texas wetlands, and was fined over $150,000 for violating the Clean Water Act, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The launch site has about 500 residents, according to the Texas Tribune; Musk also has a residence of his own. In a letter to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño last December, Starbase Manager Kathryn Lueders said making Starbase an official city would give its leaders more control over civil functions like roads and utilities.
“Incorporating Starbase will streamline the processes required to build the amenities necessary to make the area a world class place to live—for the hundreds already calling it home, as well as for prospective workers eager to help build humanity’s future in space,” Lueders said.
The new city’s local leaders will be in charge of issues such as planning and taxation, according to Fox Business. Bobby Peden, vice president of Texas’ test and launch operations at SpaceX, will serve as its first mayor, while two residents with SpaceX ties will be its commissioners. All three ran unopposed.
Last Monday, the Texas House State Affairs Committee narrowly voted 7 to 6 against House Bill 4660, which would give SpaceX more authority to limit access to Boca Chica Beach and Boca Chica State Park during rocket launches. But two days later, the committee revived a Senate version of the bill, cutting advocates’ celebrations short. Closures during these launches are usually managed by the county, which includes Brownsville and the resort town of South Padre Island.
