Residents near the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica will decide soon on the most important question of all: Should their community be renamed Starbase or not? Cameron County officials approved an election on Wednesday that will take place in May. The area is located at the southernmost end of Texas near the U.S. Mexico border.
SpaceX Starship Development Site at Boca Chica AFP/Getty Images
Elon Musk‘s growing influence in Texas
Elon Musk has expanded significantly his Texas operations since moving there in 2020. His companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX have also grown in Texas. Elon Musk’s decision to relocate and expand his businesses was influenced by the state’s friendly business environment. Tesla’s Gigafactory, a huge facility in Austin that produces Cybertrucks, and serves as the headquarters of the company, is a prime example.
Starbase is an exploration hub. Starbase is a hub for space exploration
SpaceX began its Boca Chica operation in 2014 and has gradually turned the region into the center of development for Starship, its new-generation deep spacecraft. Starbase is a proposed Starbase City Limits that encompasses approximately 250 acres of land. Only a tiny fraction does not belong to SpaceX.
An impact study conducted last year revealed that more than 3,400 SpaceX workers and contractors, many of whom are SpaceX employees with families, work full time at Starbase. They contribute significantly to local economies. A petition, signed in December by more than 70 residents – many of them SpaceX workers with families – requested that Starbase be incorporated as a municipality. The petition indicated the presence of over 100 children in the community.
Starbase, the idea for a city in Texas is not new. Musk publicly announced the idea in 2021 on social media. He simply stated his intention to build the city Starbase, Texas. Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño confirmed that the petition met all state requirements, paving the way for the incorporation process to move forward.
Kathryn Lueders believes the incorporation of Starbase would improve the quality of residents’ lives and help to grow the Starbase Community. Starbase’s incorporation could give local communities more control of infrastructure and services.
Environmental Issues and Legal Challenges
Environmental concerns have been raised by the rapid expansion of Starbase. In December 2024 several community groups filed a suit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, alleging that waste water discharged from SpaceX’s launchpads contaminated nearby wetlands. In the suit, it is claimed that wastewater from South Texas’ launch site contains pollutants and metals.
SpaceX addressed these concerns by stating in September that the company uses only “literal drinking” water for all launchpad activities. It also claimed that testing after launch revealed “negligible trace contaminants” in water spray on the site.
Statements from Key Figures
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño: If the vote passes, it will become the first new town to be established in Cameron County in over 20 years. “We look forward to the results of this election.”
Kathryn Leuders, Starbase General Manager: We need to be able to expand Starbase to continue to develop the workforce needed to quickly manufacture Starship. We are therefore requesting Cameron County to call an election in order for Starbase to be incorporated as the Rio Grande Valley’s newest city.
What’s Next? Starbase City Vote
Voting on incorporation is only open to residents who live in the designated area around the SpaceX launch pad. This election is crucial to the future of Starbase and its unique relationship with SpaceX.