Elon Musk Aims to Transform Texas' Starbase into a Corporate Settlement
Elon Musk might express enthusiasm about establishing a futuristic urban center on Mars, but he's actually developing a historical homestead in Texas. On Thursday, Musk's aerospace firm SpaceX submitted documentation to transform Starbase, its launch site in South Texas, into a corporate town. SpaceX and its staff, based around Brownsville, Texas, submitted a request to Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino for Starbase to be recognized as a fresh city.
In characteristic Musk fashion, the CEO tweeted that "SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas," which contradicts how petitions operate, since you don't just instantly receive the requested item. However, this plan has been in the works even prior to SpaceX establishing its presence near the Southern border. Musk initially proposed the idea of Starbase city in 2021.
Since then, over 3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors have set up shop in the vicinity, as per a June report from Judge Trevino's office. SpaceX has been progressively constructing facilities to cater to its occupants, such as a shopping center and restaurant, which it announced early this year. In the petition, Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders stated that incorporation would aid SpaceX in executing "civic responsibilities," including "overseeing road management, utilities, and providing education and healthcare services for the residents."
Nonetheless, if you consult SpaceX's aspirant city overseers, these civic duties are not exactly being fulfilled yet. Earlier this year, NPR reported that SpaceX disregarded environmental regulations to advance launch plans.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) discovered that SpaceX had violated the Clean Water Act. Both agencies imposed fines amounting to over $150,000 on the firm in September, serving as a mere warning for the company's infringement of regulations safeguarding local waters. SpaceX currently strives to increase its launch frequency while bypassing an extensive environmental review, a move that seems fitting for a company with a history of environmental protection violations.
Besides environmental damage, SpaceX's growing city town is also responsible for social contamination. Earlier this year, The New York Times published a report stating that Brownsville residents are overwhelmed by Musk promotions—from murals to a growing influence of the billionaire's money in their local politics.
Additionally, this is not even Musk's first creation of a company town—a model that can trace its origins to "anti-labor organizations" and "corporatist fascism." Near Austin, Texas, SpaceX operates Snailbrook, a city incorporated in 2021 and advertised as a sort of paradise for SpaceX and The Boring Company employees.
Snailbrook has yet to achieve that aspiration, unless your concept of a paradise encompasses "a billionaire disposing wastewater into local rivers" and "overlooking any concerns raised by Texas locals and city planners," in which case it has successfully achieved this goal. Sherwood News described the city as a "hastily executed project with incomplete walls and a damaged playground," comprising of "an uninsulated bodega, a smaller-than-planned school, and approximately 15 trailers, rather than the 110 initially planned homes."
So, will Starbase be any different...you wonder?
Despite Elon Musk's aspirations for a technologically advanced urban center on Mars, his focus in the meantime is on transforming Starbase in Texas into a tech-driven corporate town. With SpaceX's progressive construction of facilities and the intention to oversee civic responsibilities, this futuristic city could shape the technological landscape of the future.
