At the southern tip of Texas, amidst the desert landscape, there is now officially a new city. Starbase residents – mostly SpaceX employees – voted to turn the small apartment complex into an autonomous municipality. With 212 votes in favor and only 6 against, Elon Musk’s initiative won, solidifying the company’s impact on the region.
And Elon Musk did
Starbase is officially a city. https://t.co/YEt28hSRBS pic.twitter.com/uhDb0pp9zO
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) May 4, 2025
Musk has already celebrated the victory with a post on social media X: “It’s now official.” But for many Texans, this is just the beginning of a new, unknown chapter.
From settlement to city
The idea to create Starbase belongs to Musk. In 2021, he announced a plan to turn an apartment complex created for rocket launch site workers into a real township with its own infrastructure. In three years, SpaceX has constructed apartment complexes, stores, and even announced the opening of a $15 million shopping center.
According to the BBC, about 500 people live in the 3.9 km² area and the number of company employees in the county exceeds 3,400.
Bobby Peden, a vice president of the company, became the mayor of Starbase, and the city received a C category (population under 5,000). That means more autonomy in decision-making, from closing roads to regulating construction. At the same time, the new status will allow SpaceX to avoid some of the bureaucratic obstacles.
The environmental cost of progress
However, SpaceX’s expansion is worrisome. In July 2024, conservation organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, filed suit against the Federal Aviation Administration. Their argument: the Starship construction permit was issued without a proper ecosystem impact assessment. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency is threatening the company with a $150,000 fine for discharging pollution into Texas water bodies.
Locals who live near the SpaceX launch site complain about the noise and destruction of infrastructure during launches. For example, in 2023, a Starship rocket explosion damaged homes within a 10 km radius. Now, with city status, the company can legitimately control access to beaches and roads, raising questions about the balance between innovation and community rights.
Sacrifices for prosperity
On the one hand, SpaceX’s investment has revitalized the region’s economy, creating thousands of jobs and attracting tourists. On the other hand, environmentalists warn: intensive launches threaten the unique fauna of the Gulf of Mexico, in particular sea turtles and birds.
In March 2024, Texas Republican senators supported a bill that would give private companies the right to close coastal areas to the public during launches. This further strengthens SpaceX’s position, but raises questions about their transparency.
Starbase is an experiment where corporate ambition collides with ecology and community rights. Will this city become a symbol of progress or a warning of the dangers of monopolizing space? Only time – and the next Starship launches – can provide the answer.
Earlier we reported on what the SpaceX Starbase complex looked like from space.
