https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/02/elon-musk-spacex-texas-starship-00317693

Right now, this roughly 1.5 square mile community is technically unincorporated Boca Chica Village. But on Saturday, the 200-odd residents — the vast majority of whom are SpaceX employees — will decide whether the land surrounding Musk’s massive rocket launchpad should become its own city: Starbase, Texas. It is an election that the region has been marching toward since December, when several dozen residents submitted a petition to South Texas’ Cameron County asking it to schedule an election that would incorporate Starbase as its own municipality. The move would give SpaceX increased autonomy, virtually its own government, and greater ability to build where and how it wants.

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The measure’s passage could lead to possible land grabs through eminent domain, diminished public beach access and less oversight of the company’s activities.

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Now, 100 years after the era of the company town, the richest man on Earth appears set on reprising the concept for the space age.

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As SpaceX was making moves toward a vote on Starbase, Musk’s company was also supporting a legislative package, one bill for the House, the other for the Senate, in the Texas statehouse. The identical bills would give municipalities with “spaceports” the ability to limit access to public beaches, a move which seemed specifically targeted at Boca Chica. That would mean SpaceX would have the right to close Highway 4 in Cameron County for any activity that involves space flight. Currently, only the county can close the highway.

The incorporation of Spacebase seems to be primarily a question of control for SpaceX. The new city would directly manage its building and permitting, eliminating regulatory hurdles it might have to jump through at the county level. It would control its own land use laws and local taxes, and would also allow it to apply for state and federal grants. Although the ability to shut down the highway for launches is helpful, a Starbase city would have autonomy that extends far beyond that.

To activists like Hinojosa, the bills are just the first step in a series of power grabs that will likely define the era of Starbase, Texas, which she views as part of the slow colonization of her hometown by the tech oligarchy.

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Within 15 minutes [of trying to canvas voters and campaign against incorporation], an unmarked white truck filled with what Treviño described as “mall cops with bullet proof vests” confronted the group and told them that they were on private property. Treviño challenged the men, who identified themselves as SpaceX security, asking why they had the right to boot canvassers off a public thoroughfare. The volunteers said security refused to answer their questions and again forcefully told them to leave. The group returned to their cars, surprised and scared, as they drove back toward Brownsville. (SpaceX did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

EDIT:

The vote’s in. 212 for, 6 against. Musk gets his city.

• https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-starbase-texas-city-7863bf3bac65e9718eef19b27978933b