SpaceX is launching a new mission to transform its Starbase site into a Texas city.
On Thursday, Elon Musk’s company sent a letter to local officials requesting a vote to incorporate Starbase – the South Texas location where SpaceX builds and launches its Starship rockets – into a city. The petition was submitted by residents of the area, according to the company.
Located at Boca Chica Beach on the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border, the area is where Musk previously announced he would move the headquarters of SpaceX and his social media company X from California to Texas.
“To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community. 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,” Kathryn Lueders, the general manager of Starbase, wrote in a letter to the county.
This isn’t the first time the idea of making Starbase its own city has been proposed. Musk suggested it in 2021 with a social media post that read, “Creating the city of Starbase, Texas.”
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr., the county’s top official, noted that while incorporation discussions began in 2021, this is the first time an official petition has been filed.
“Our legal and elections administration will review the petition, see whether or not it complied with all of the statutory requirements and then we’ll go from there,” Treviño said on Thursday.
According to a local impact study released by Trevino earlier this year, over 3,400 full-time SpaceX employees and contractors work at the Starbase site.
SpaceX’s rapid expansion in the area has faced opposition from some locals. In July, a group called Save RGV sued the company, accusing it of environmental violations and dumping polluted water into the nearby bay. In response, SpaceX stated that a state review found no environmental risks and dismissed the lawsuit as “frivolous.”
Source
- Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX’s Starbase site into a Texas city – The Associated Press