Elon Musk's SpaceX Pushes To Incorporate 'Starbase' As New Texas City Amid Expansion and Local Opposition

SpaceX has taken a formal step toward transforming its South Texas site, Starbase, into an incorporated city.

The aerospace company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, sent a letter to Cameron County officials on Thursday (12 December) requesting an election to incorporate the area into a city.

According to SpaceX, the petition was submitted by residents of the Starbase area, located at Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border.

“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, general manager of Starbase, wrote in the letter to county officials, news agency AP reported.

The proposal to create the city of Starbase is not new.

Musk first floated the idea in 2021 with a social media post stating, “Creating the city of Starbase, Texas.”

However, this marks the first time an official petition has been filed, according to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr.

“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.

The Starbase site currently employs over 3,400 full-time SpaceX workers and contractors, according to a local impact study issued by Treviño earlier this year.

Musk recently relocated the headquarters of SpaceX and his social media company, X, from California to Texas, further solidifying the state as a hub for his ventures.

Despite SpaceX’s rapid growth in the region, the company has faced opposition from some local groups.

Earlier this year, Save RGV filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, alleging environmental violations, including polluted water discharge into the nearby bay.

SpaceX dismissed the claims as “frivolous,” citing a state review that found no environmental risks.

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