Elon Musk has made his dream come true: his SpaceX spaceport in South Texas is now officially a city! On Saturday, 97.7% of voters said “yes” to turning Starbase into a new municipality. Musk excitedly shared the news on social media, declaring, “Starbase, Texas is now a real city!”
Starbase is where SpaceX builds and launches rockets, working with the U.S. government to send astronauts back to the moon and even to Mars someday. The facility started in 2019, and the idea for Starbase was brought up by Musk in 2021. Of the small number of 283 voters, most were either SpaceX employees or people connected to the company।
After the votes were counted, it was revealed that Musk had even registered to vote! However, he didn’t cast his ballot in time for the early voting deadline. The vote also made Bobby Peden, a SpaceX leader, the official mayor of Starbase. He was the only one on the ballot and received 100% of the votes!
While many people are excited about Starbase becoming a city, some locals are worried about what this means for their environment. Bekah Hinojosa, who helps lead an environmental group, mentioned concerns about pollution and damage to local wildlife. She fears that more rockets and activity from SpaceX might harm their community and the beach that families have visited for years.
Additionally, some members of a local Indigenous tribe feel upset about Starbase’s new status as a city. They worry that it will limit access to places important to their history. In 2024, environmental authorities found that SpaceX had been polluting Texas waterways.
Musk made a lighthearted comment about the environmental issues by joking that he would stop eating omelettes for a week to make up for the damages caused by his rockets.
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