Musk received its city city – Starbase City is official

It is officially: SpaceX has its own urban city on the southern end of Texas, despite fears that it will expand the company’s control over the area.

Residents living near the start of SpaceX, the bigger part of whom are the company’s employees, vote in favor of turning Starbase into own cityS It was an extensive victory for SpaceX, with 212 voting in favor of Rocket City and six against, according to Cameron County election department.

The founder and CEO of Spacex Elon Musk has long dreamed of turning Starbase into his city, and the billionaire celebrates the X of announcement“Now, it’s official.” Musk First put the idea of ​​a star city in 2021.And since then the company has expanded its presence with dwellings and other facilities.

A report issued by Trevinho’s office in June states that more than 3,400 employees and contractors of SpaceX have created a store around the base in the last few years. Earlier last year, Spacex also plans To open a shopping mall and restaurant for $ 15 million.

In December 2024, More than 70 district inhabitants submit a petition To ask for elections to the decision to make Starbase its own municipality. However, most of the residents are considered to be SpaceX employees, According to to the petition obtained by AP.

The city extends to about 1.6 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) and is home to approximately 500 residents nearby, according to BbcS SpaceX began buying land in the area in 2012, when the company was not as influential as it is today.

Starbase will have his own mayor, Bobby Pede, Vice President of SpaceX and two commissioners. It has been identified as the city of Type-C, a municipality with less than 5000 inhabitants.

SpaceX rockets are already destructive to the local community, and the creation of Starbase as a city can increase the municipal power of the company and allow it to exceed the regulatory bureaucracy designed to protect its surroundings.

In July 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Conservation of Birds, and other protection groups filed a case against the federal aviation administrationHaving claimed to be rushed Spacex’s star ship allows process without adequate requirements for reviewing the environment or mitigating. SpaceX also faces fines of nearly $ 150,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency for illegally illegally disposing pollutants in Texas water without permission.

SpaceX could too have control over the highway and the closure of the beach in the areaS Texas legislators have filed a bill on March 14, which will provide Spacex with control over road and beach closure for their missile activities. Although the bill filed by two Republican senators does not mention SpaceX by name, it refers to cosmic elements and access to the beach, “bordering the Gulf of Mexico or its tide boundaries.”

Local employees are usually in favor of SpaceX for job generation in the area and attracting viewers for its rocket launches, but the company’s investment in southern Texas may come at a price.