Voters Approve Incorporation of SpaceX Hub as Starbase, Texas

A community in South Texas, known as the hub of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has voted to officially establish a new city called Starbase. This fulfills one of Mr. Musk’s long-held dreams. The vote, administered by Cameron County, saw all but six of the 218 voters supporting the incorporation of Starbase. There were 283 eligible voters in total, according to Remi Garza, the elections administrator for the county. Starbase, formerly known as Boca Chica, covers about 1.5 square miles on the Texas-Mexico border and has been SpaceX’s central hub and launch site since 2014.

On his social media platform, X, Mr. Musk has frequently referred to the area as Starbase. In June 2021, he mentioned that his primary home is a house in Boca Chica / Starbase that he rents from SpaceX. In December, residents around the SpaceX offices and launch site petitioned to establish the city of Starbase, Texas.

The petition described a community of approximately 500 people, including at least 219 primary residents and over 100 children. Most residents are renters and work at SpaceX. If established, Starbase would have the option to create its own police and fire departments and adopt its own ordinances.

Alan Bojorquez, a lawyer in Austin, explained that as a municipality, Starbase would have the authority to handle road maintenance, access state and federal grants, have immunity from lawsuits, and condemn property if necessary. Despite these powers, cities are not legally required to do much. “Starbase started with one shovel,” Mr. Musk mentioned on X following the finalization of the vote.

J. David Goodman contributed reporting to this article.