Local Texas outlet KUT News reported that Boca Chica Village residents voted overwhelmingly—212 to 6—in favor of incorporating Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch site as an official city, now named Starbase, Texas. The move marks a major victory for Musk and highlights the rise of private-sector industrial capitalism as SpaceX leads the global space race.
“Becoming a city will help us continue building the best community possible for the men and women building the future of humanity’s place in space,” the city of Starbase wrote on X.
Musk celebrated in a post on X, saying, “Starbase, Texas, is now a real city!”
Starbase is about 1.5 square miles and includes some unincorporated Boca Chica Village.
About 260 SpaceX employees live in the area; add in their partners and families, and it’s closer to 500. Another 3,100 workers live 34 miles away in Brownsville.
Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021. At one point, the county rejected SpaceX’s attempt to build townhouses for its workers—around the same time the company began seriously pursuing incorporation.