Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has launched an effort to transform his SpaceX Starbase facility in Texas into an incorporated city, requesting county officials call an election to incorporate as the city of Starbase, Texas.
The Daily Mail reports that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is on a mission to turn the site of his rocket company’s Texas headquarters into its own city. In a letter submitted to Cameron County officials on Thursday, SpaceX requested that the county call an election to enable the incorporation of the Starbase facility as the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley area, appropriately named Starbase, Texas.
Located near Boca Chica Beach on the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border, Starbase is currently an unincorporated town that serves as the main development and launch site for SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket. Over 3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors currently work at the rapidly expanding site.
Earlier this year, the 53-year-old Musk announced plans to move SpaceX’s corporate headquarters from California to the Starbase facility, citing the Golden State’s new gender identity laws as a reason for the relocation. Musk personally moved from California to Texas in 2020.
“To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” SpaceX’s letter to county officials stated. “That is why we are requesting that Cameron County call an election to enable the incorporation of Starbase as the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Musk expressed his enthusiasm for the move on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!” the tech billionaire wrote in a post.
While Musk first publicly floated the idea of creating a city called Starbase back in 2021, this marks the first time an official petition has been filed to start the incorporation process. Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr., the area’s top elected official, said the county’s legal and elections teams will review the petition to determine if it meets all statutory requirements before proceeding.
However, SpaceX’s rapid development in the region hasn’t been without controversy. Some local residents have pushed back against the expansion, and an environmental group called Save RGV filed a lawsuit against the company in July alleging pollution violations. SpaceX countered that a state review found no environmental risks and called the suit “frivolous.”
Musk’s high-profile visit to Starbase with President-elect Donald Trump before a recent rocket launch has further thrust the facility into the national spotlight. If the incorporation effort is successful, it would give Musk broad power to shape the future growth and municipal governance of the Starbase area.
Read more at the Daily Mail here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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