So, like, check it out, y’all! The South Texas crib of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company just got a major upgrade – it’s now a legit city with a super cool name: Starbase. This past weekend, a bunch of peeps living in the area, mostly SpaceX employees, voted to make Starbase an official city. And get this, the vote was like 212 in favor and only 6 against. Talk about a landslide victory, right? Elon Musk was all hyped about it and posted on his social media, X, saying, “Starbase is now a real city!”
Starbase is where all the magic happens for the SpaceX rocket program, which is all about sending astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars. Musk came up with the idea for Starbase back in 2021, and it was pretty much a done deal from the get-go. Most of the 283 peeps eligible to vote in the area are believed to be SpaceX workers, so you can imagine how pumped they were to make this happen.
This win was a big deal for Musk, especially since he hasn’t been the most popular dude lately. Ever since he got involved with Trump and saw a drop in profits at Tesla, he’s been trying to make moves to keep things going. SpaceX, on the other hand, has been getting a lot of love from local peeps for bringing in jobs and investing in the area. But not everyone is on board with turning Starbase into an official city. Some peeps are worried that Musk will have too much control over the area and could even shut down a beach and state park for launches.
There’s talk in the state Legislature about giving the new city’s mayor and council more power over the area, taking it away from the county. And on top of all that, SpaceX is asking for permission to up the number of launches in South Texas from 5 to 25 a year. So, yeah, things are getting pretty wild down in Starbase.
The city itself is tiny, only about 1.5 square miles, with a few roads and some old-school homes scattered around. SpaceX hasn’t said much about why they wanted to make Starbase a city, but they did mention something about wanting to grow the community. They already handle things like roads, utilities, and even schooling and medical care for peeps living there.
But the real drama is over who gets to decide if the beach should be closed for launches. SpaceX says having the city in charge would make things run smoother, but critics think the county should keep that power since more peeps use the beach and park. There’s even a proposed bill that would slap peeps with jail time if they don’t evacuate the beach when told.
Some locals, like Josette Hinojosa, are fighting to keep the beach open for everyone to enjoy. She’s not about to let SpaceX ruin her family’s beach days. And then you’ve got Christopher Basaldú, repping the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribe, who sees the area as a sacred place for his ancestors. It’s not just about a beach; it’s about history and culture, man.
So, yeah, things are heating up in Starbase, with peeps on both sides of the fence going head-to-head. Musk might be celebrating now, but who knows what’s coming next in this wild ride of a city. It’s like a real-life soap opera down there, and we’re all just waiting to see what happens next.
