SpaceX employees vote to create city of Starbase

After years of building up the local area, moving countless SpaceX employees, and employing thousands, SpaceX’s Starbase facility now resides in the city of Starbase, Texas. The incorporation became official after about 300 eligible voters voted yes to create the city, most of whom work for SpaceX.

Starbase’s first elections were held Saturday, where the roughly 300 residents voted on whether or not they wished to incorporate as the city of Starbase. They also selected the city’s mayor and two commissioners. With SpaceX being the overall employer of the residents, the result was, unsurprisingly, a success for the company: 212 approved, 6 against.

A concept that is mostly extinct in modern times, Starbase joins a list of company towns, cities primarily built and managed by a corporation. Popular in the boom of the early mining and lumber industries, some exist as standalone cities; however, many became ghost towns. A popular example of company towns that still exists is Lake Buena Vista, Bay Lake, and Reedy Creek Improvement District in Florida, largely controlled and managed by Walt Disney World Resort.

Alongside its election to incorporate, voters also chose its mayor, Robert Peden, and its two commissioners, Jenna Petrzelka and Jordan Buss, all of whom are either current or former SpaceX employees. Petrzelka is the only former SpaceX employee, but her husband is reportedly a SpaceX vice president. All ran unopposed.

The county will still need to formally verify the new incorporation before the city of Starbase can begin to operate.

With Starbase now soon to become a formal city, it gives SpaceX more control over the municipal functions of the region: roads, zoning, and potentially beach access. A bill to give Starbase, Texas, control over Boca Chica Beach access is currently working through the state legislature. For now, it’s controlled by Cameron County.

A continued fight over public access to the beach has been the primary concern for SpaceX’s operations among local indigenous people. Locals have also fought SpaceX over environmental concerns regarding SpaceX launches; however, those fights haven’t made it far enough to stop them.

When made official, Starbase, Texas, will have a population of roughly 500 residents—a number SpaceX hopes to quickly grow as developments increase.