Residents of a South Texas community—mostly SpaceX employees—voted overwhelmingly (212 to 6) in favor of incorporating their area as a new municipality named Starbase.
On Saturday, locals in the area that hosts Elon Musk's SpaceX operations officially voted to establish the city of Starbase, realizing a vision Musk has promoted for years. The vote was administered by Cameron County, which confirmed that only six out of 218 voters opposed the measure. According to county election administrator Remi Garza, there were 283 registered voters.
The community, commonly known as Boca Chica, spans roughly 1.5 square miles near the U.S.-Mexico border. SpaceX began development there in 2014, and it has since evolved into the company’s primary launch center and residential area for hundreds of employees.
Musk has frequently referred to the area as Starbase on his social media platform, X, where in 2021 he noted, “My primary home is literally a ~$50k house in Boca Chica / Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It’s kinda awesome though.”
In December, residents near SpaceX's facilities submitted a petition to incorporate the area as Starbase, Texas. The petition outlined a population of roughly 500 people, including at least 219 permanent residents and more than 100 children, with nearly all residents working for SpaceX and living in rented housing.
As a newly incorporated city, Starbase would gain the authority to establish its own police and fire departments and pass local laws, although it's not legally required to do so. Attorney Alan Bojorquez, who specializes in municipal incorporation in Texas, noted that while cities have minimal mandatory responsibilities, they do assume control over services like road maintenance and can access state and federal funding, enjoy certain legal immunities, and exercise eminent domain.
Following the vote, Musk posted on X, “Starbase started with one shovel.”
Reporting contributed by J. David Goodman. Hank Sanders is a journalist with the New York Times Fellowship program for 2024-25.
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