Elon Musk's "Starbase" Officially Launches as a City in Texas

Mayor and City Council Members Also Former SpaceX Employees

A new city called "Starbase" will be established in the southernmost part of Texas, United States. This area, which is home to the launch site of SpaceX, the space company led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is now officially becoming a self-governing municipality.

According to Bloomberg and other foreign media on May 3 (local time), residents of Cameron County, Texas, passed a referendum to change the name of the area to "Starbase," with 216 votes in favor and 6 against.

This area is a small village of about 4.6 square kilometers located on the coast near the Mexican border. A significant number of the 283 eligible voters are SpaceX employees. At the end of last year, these residents submitted a petition to the county court requesting that the area be designated as an official local government, and this has now been realized through the vote.

If the county judge officially certifies the election results, Starbase will be registered as an autonomous city in Texas. After the vote, CEO Musk expressed his welcome on his social media platform X, stating, "Starbase is now a real city." He has consistently shared his vision of turning the area into an independent city for several years.

Even after being elevated to city status, CEO Musk will not be able to arbitrarily change laws or regulations, but he will gain exclusive authority over matters such as urban development plans. Bloomberg explained that the newly formed city council will oversee key issues such as zoning and construction planning within the area.

Cameron County stated, "This elevation to city status will contribute to creating the best community for people building humanity's future in space."

On the same day, residents also elected the first three public officials of Starbase, including a mayor and two city council members. All were current or former SpaceX employees who ran unopposed and were elected.