Elon Musk plans to expand his rocket business, in hopes of eventually reaching Mars. He moved his rocket business to Texas, far from the environmentalists who get in his way. So he bought a massive plot of land in Texas and started building the new town of Starbase. The residents of Starbase, almost all employed by Musk, held an election and voted to create a new town. Surprise! It was a landslide, reports Berenice Garcia of The Texas Tribune. He calls Srarbase a city, but with a likely population of 500 residents, it’s a small town.

BROWNSVILLE — Elon Musk’s wish to create his own city just came true.

On Saturday, voters living around SpaceX’s rocket testing and launch facility in South Texas approved a measure to incorporate the area as a new city. Soon after polls closed at 7 p.m., Cameron County election officials confirmed that overwhelming support among early voters clinched the election in favor of creating the City of Starbase.

Unofficial results later in the night showed the election was a landslide: 212 voted in favor; 6 opposed.

After the county certifies the results, the new city will be official.

Musk celebrated the vote Saturday night with a single word posted to X: “S T A R B A S E.”

But there were no signs of a celebration at Starbase itself. After a gray, rainy Election Day, the soon-to-be-city had a quiet night. No fireworks. No street parties. A few folks gathered at the Astropub, a bar for SpaceX employees, late into the evening.

Only 283 people, those who live within the boundaries of the proposed city, were eligible to vote in the election. A Texas Newsroom analysis of the voter rolls showed two-thirds of them either work for SpaceX or had already indicated their support.

The three unopposed people who ran to lead the city also have ties to SpaceX.

It’s not clear if Musk, whose primary residence is here, cast a ballot.

The vote clears the way for Musk to try to capture more control over the nearby public beach, which must be closed for launches. On Saturday afternoon, a few dozen activists who say the company has harmed sensitive habitats and ignored the cultural importance of the land rallied on the beach — with an Elon Musk piñata in tow.

“These hills here are sacred to us,” Juan Mancias, chair of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, told The Texas Newsroom. “They don’t know the history of the land, and they’re trying to erase that.”

Creating a city in Texas is not unusual. New ones are formed all the time. Company towns are also an undeniably American feature.

But Musk may be the first entrepreneur in modern history to incorporate his own town almost solely for his employees. And the effort may not be his last. He’s also floated the idea of founding another city at his corporate compound outside Austin….

Just down the road from the SpaceX launch site is Boca Chica Beach. A public strip sandwiched between South Padre Island and the Rio Grande, the beach is popular with locals who fish, drive and camp on its windy dunes.

The area has become less accessible in the years since SpaceX arrived. That’s because it must be evacuated for safety each time a rocket is tested. SpaceX is asking for approval to increase its launches from about five to 25 times a year.

Right now, Cameron County commissioners decide when to close access to the beach. That may soon change.

SpaceX is backing a bill making its way through the Texas Legislature that would shift the beach closure authority to Starbase city commissioners on weekdays. It has already been approved by the Texas Senate and is pending a vote by the full House…

At the beach on Saturday, the protesters said local politicians have not properly protected the land. Environmentalists, indigenous leaders and local fishermen said the beach needs to remain out of SpaceX’s control.