Voting Underway Until May 3, 90% Support Incorporating

SpaceX’s Starbase facility may become Starbase City soon, as residents voting on whether to incorporate as a city have until May 3, 2025 to cast their ballots. Starbase is the home of SpaceX’s Starship facility and its current population is less than 300, including 120 children.

The facilities, east of Brownsville, Texas, include the Starbase Office, Production Site, High Bay for vertical integration of the Starship vehicle, the Tracking Station, and a residential area. The space launch facility is about a mile or so east near Boca Chica beach. All are located in the Rio Grande Valley of Cameron County in southeastern Texas.

Owner Elon Musk relocated the SpaceX headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase in 2024 as he envisioned a futuristic environment for the  SpaceX workforce. He personally pitched the concept of a space-age city some time ago and has mentioned it numerous times over the years.

The proposed city would span about 1.5 square miles, about the size of New York City’s Central Park. It could potentially house as many as 3,500 SpaceX employees. A petition filed earlier in 2025 triggered the vote to establish Starbase as a Type C municipality. SpaceX believes Starbase needs to be incorporated as a city to support its mission to Mars program.

About 90% of the 279 eligible voters are expected to favor the incorporation so the measure is expected to pass. Included in the balloting are candidates for mayor and two commissioners. Only one person, Bobby Peden, is the candidate for Mayor of Starbase. Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka are in the running for commissioners.

The incorporation of Starbase would be a bold step for Musk’s vision. It could also redefine the Rio Grande Valley area by establishing a company-driven municipality focused on space exploration.

FMI:  www.spacex.com/