WafricNews | May 4, 2025

What started as a private rocket launch site in a remote corner of Texas has now officially been stamped into existence as a city — welcome to Starbase, Texas.

Over the weekend, residents in a tiny strip of land near the Gulf Coast voted to incorporate the area around Elon Musk’s SpaceX facilities as an official municipality. With 212 votes in favor and only six against, it wasn’t exactly a tight race — but here’s the catch: most of the 283 eligible voters are SpaceX employees.

Almost overnight, a corporation’s backyard experiment has transformed into a legally recognized city. Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate: “Starbase, Texas is now a real city!”

But while the billionaire’s followers are cheering, some locals are asking tough questions: Is this a bold leap for space exploration, or just a land grab disguised as progress?

A Private Empire, Public Power

The newly formed Starbase spans about 1.6 square miles, nestled in the once-sleepy community of Boca Chica. Since SpaceX began buying up land in 2012, rockets aren’t the only thing that’s taken off — company housing, launch pads, and even a road named Memes Street have popped up. A bizarre bronze bust of Musk himself — recently defaced — serves as a towering reminder of who’s really in charge.

Now, with official city status, SpaceX gets more than just branding. The new government, led entirely by SpaceX insiders, will have control over planning, taxes, and local policy. The new mayor? Bobby Peden, a SpaceX vice-president, who ran unopposed — as did the two commissioners, both with SpaceX ties.

The city is classified as a Type C municipality, giving it the power to collect property taxes and — controversially — possibly control access to nearby public spaces like Boca Chica Beach and Boca Chica State Park during launches.

That’s not sitting well with some in the wider Cameron County, where local officials are pushing back. Judge Eddie Treviño Jr, the top county official, is openly opposing a state bill that would hand Starbase more control over road closures and beach access.

Environmental Concerns Cloud the Celebration

While Musk is moving more and more of his operations to Texas — from Tesla’s HQ to his social media company X — not everyone’s buying into the tech dream. Environmental groups have sounded the alarm for years, accusing SpaceX of damaging local ecosystems, increasing light pollution, and scattering rocket debris across the shoreline.

In 2024, the company was fined nearly $150,000 by the EPA and state regulators for dumping wastewater. SpaceX shrugged it off as a paperwork dispute.

And it’s not just the environment — many locals say the company’s rise has pushed them out and reshaped the community without real input. Starbase may now be a city on paper, but critics argue it’s more of a corporate enclave than a true town.
includes the nearby city of Brownsville and the resort town of South Padre Island.

includes the nearby city of Brownsville and the resort town of South Padre Island.

A Glimpse into the Future?

Musk’s experiment in city-building isn’t entirely new. He’s already making headlines with a separate tech-focused community outside Austin, where his other companies, including Boring Company, have set up shop. But unlike Starbase, that area doesn’t yet claim city status or offer housing.

What’s happening in Starbase could be a blueprint for Musk’s bigger ambitions — not just on Earth, but eventually on Mars.

But back here on solid ground, Starbase is raising questions about what happens when the world’s richest man builds his own city, staffs it with his employees, and governs it through company executives.

One thing’s clear: in Elon Musk’s version of the future, the launch pad isn’t just for rockets — it’s for power.


By WafricNews Desk.