Elon Musk Starbase City in Texas Could Soon Become a Reality
A small stretch of land on the southernmost tip of Texas, long dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX operations, is now on the brink of officially becoming its own city—Starbase.
On Saturday, local residents cast their votes on whether to incorporate the area currently known as Boca Chica Village into a new municipality. The region, which covers about 1.6 square miles, was once a quiet, sparsely populated spot near the Gulf of Mexico.
But since SpaceX started buying up land in 2012, the area has transformed, with company buildings, employee housing, and even a large bust of Musk (now vandalised) marking its new identity.
According to local election records, the vast majority of the 283 eligible voters are SpaceX employees, and most of them have already voted early. If the vote passes, Starbase will become an official Type C city under Texas law—a classification meant for towns with fewer than 5,000 residents.
This designation would allow the new city to levy a property tax of up to 1.5%, manage local planning and development, and have authority over municipal issues such as road use and beach access.
Leadership Already in Place
If the incorporation measure is approved, Bobby Peden, a SpaceX vice-president, will become Starbase’s first mayor. He’s running unopposed, as are the two candidates aiming for the city’s commissioner seats. With early voting turnout already high among SpaceX employees, there’s a strong possibility that the company’s vision for Starbase will become official soon.
A New City, A New Power Structure
This change could have significant implications for local governance and access to public resources. A bill making its way through the Texas state legislature could grant Starbase’s officials the authority to restrict access to Boca Chica Beach and Boca Chica State Park during rocket launches and other company operations. These closures are currently managed by Cameron County.
Judge Eddie Treviño Jr., the top official in Cameron County, has expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing it would give disproportionate power to a private company over public lands. Environmental activists have raised concerns as well, accusing SpaceX of disrupting local ecosystems, creating excessive light pollution, and leaving behind debris from frequent rocket launches.
In fact, in 2024, the company was fined nearly $150,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for allegedly dumping wastewater. SpaceX has downplayed the penalties, calling them the result of “disagreements over paperwork” and insisting that it complies with all environmental regulations.
From Quiet Village to Space Hub
The area around Boca Chica was once home to just a few scattered homes and wildlife refuges. Now, it’s a launch site for some of SpaceX’s most ambitious projects, including its powerful Starship rocket, which is central to Musk’s vision of reaching Mars.
Musk himself has taken up residence nearby and famously renamed the area “Starbase” back in 2021, though at the time it was more a branding exercise than a legal change. Roads like “Memes Street” and a community of SpaceX workers have made the area feel more like a corporate outpost than a traditional village.
Texas, the New Frontier for Musk’s Empire
This push to formalize Starbase as a city is part of a larger trend. Over the past few years, Musk has relocated several of his companies’ headquarters from California to Texas, citing friendlier regulations and a business-friendly political climate. His social media company X and his tunneling startup The Boring Company are now based outside Bastrop, near Austin.
However, unlike the setup in Starbase, the Bastrop site hasn’t seen as much residential development for workers, most of whom live in nearby communities. That makes Starbase something of a unique experiment—a purpose-built company town in the modern era.
What Comes Next?
If Saturday’s vote goes as expected, Starbase will officially be added to the map, complete with a mayor and city government—effectively giving Elon Musk his own company-controlled municipality.
But legal and political battles may lie ahead, especially regarding public land access, environmental issues, and how much control a private corporation should have over civic infrastructure.
Whether you view it as a bold new experiment or a troubling consolidation of corporate power, there’s no denying that Starbase is shaping up to be one of the most unusual cities in America.
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