Texas village votes on creating new Starbase town for SpaceX
A Texas village is currently voting on the establishment of a new town called starbase, intended to support Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX. the vote is expected to pass, as approximately 90% of the eligible voters—many of whom are SpaceX employees and their families—have recently moved to the area. This move aims to streamline operations for SpaceX, particularly with regard to managing beach closures and access to launch sites. If approved, Starbase would be roughly the size of New York’s Central Park and would house 3,500 employees. The push for the town reflects broader legislative efforts to enhance SpaceX’s operational control over its launch activities. However,local and environmental activists have expressed concerns that the town’s creation could undermine public beach access rights in Texas. The voting process is set to conclude on May 3, with certain local goverment positions related to the town also being contested.
Texas village votes on creating new Starbase town for Elon Musk’s SpaceX
A Texas village is voting to formally launch Starbase, a town devoted to Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
The vote will almost certainly be in favor, with 90% of the 279 eligible voters having flocked to the area in the past year, according to records obtained by the New York Times through a public information act request. Nearly all are SpaceX employees and their families, which would make the city a de facto company town.
Voting will conclude on May 3. SpaceX employees filed the petition to create the town in December 2024. The land in question is currently part of Boca Chica Village, in Cameron County.
The city, first floated by Musk four years ago, would be roughly the size of New York’s Central Park, 1.5 square miles, and encompass a small stretch of Texas’s coast along the Gulf of America, the body of water internationally recognized as the Gulf of Mexico. It could serve as the home of SpaceX’s 3,500 employees.
If the measure is passed, Musk’s company would gain greater control over the area where it launches its rockets. Two enduring problems that have caused headaches for the company are the need to constantly close Texas State Highway 4 and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach. The public must be notified in advance whenever the required closures are undertaken, leading to an extra headache for the company.
The voting regarding Starbase comes alongside two bills in the Texas legislature that would give the city the authority to close the beach rather than coordinate through Cameron County. In tandem with the vote to create the city are the positions of mayor, SpaceX’s security manager, and two city commissioners. The candidates are running unopposed.
SpaceX General Manager Kathy Leuders testified in support of the bills in the Texas legislature.
“HB4660 makes a simple but important administrative update to the way beach closures are coordinated around launch activities in Cameron County,” Leuders told the Texas legislature in a testimony.
“What it does do is shift the administrative authority for weekday coordination from Cameron County to the future city of Starbase, helping streamline communication and improve local operational planning,” she added.
The business community also backed the move. Texas Association of Business CEO Glenn Hamer argued it would help Texas “dominate the space field.”
“We want to make sure that the regulations are as streamlined as possible so that these companies can operate effectively and efficiently,” Hamer told the Texas legislature.
The main opposition to the city is a combination of local and environmentalist activists. Local activists argue that the creation would hurt Texas’s robust open beach laws, which allow the public to access beaches without paying a fee.
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Local activist Rob Nixon with the South Texas chapter of the Surfrider Foundation told MySanAntonio.com that giving SpaceX the ability to close beaches would go against thousands of years of Western law, citing relevant sections of the famous law code of Byzantine Emperor St. Justinian the Great.
“The (Texas) Open Beaches Act is based on Justinian law, which is actually Roman law,” he said.
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