Residents of Starbase Voted to Form a SpaceX City. Now, They’ve Received a Letter About Their Property Rights

In May, residents of the small community surrounding the SpaceX headquarters in Boca Chica, in southeastern Texas, held a historic vote. The majority supported forming the city of Starbase, effectively making Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s company the de facto owner of the enclave with unprecedented autonomy.

So, the letter that just arrived surprised the residents.

An urban experiment. The transformation of the former Texas town of Boca Chica into the corporate city of Starbase represents much more than a simple name change. Conceived as the epicenter of SpaceX’s space operations and approved by a population primarily made up of company employees, Starbase has entered a new phase of territorial reorganization.

The problem? A memo released by City Manager Kent Myers warns many residents that they could “lose the right to continue using” their property as is under a rezoning proposal set for debate on June 23.

The document is explicit: Landowners in the affected area may have to modify or abandon their properties if they don’t comply with the new urban plan. While the city aims to become a mixed zone of residences, offices, and services, the development model focuses almost exclusively on supporting SpaceX’s expansion and its launch facilities.

Company town. According to Fortune, the Starbase urban development project revives the old American “company town” model—this time with technologically advanced, yet politically concerning, features. These were towns where the company served as employer, regulator, and, in many ways, sovereign. The current mayor, Robert Peden, is a 12-year SpaceX veteran. Most voters work for the company.

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This structure merges civil governance with corporate goals, making the public interest subordinate to a single entity’s industrial plan. In this setup, key decisions—like rezoning, mobility restrictions, and access to public goods such as beaches—no longer come through open public forums. Instead, they follow a private logic, backed by local legal frameworks.

Public space is restricted. One of the most visible consequences of SpaceX’s expansion in Starbase is reduced access to Boca Chica Beach. This coastal strip holds environmental and spiritual importance, particularly for the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe. SpaceX has cited safety during launches as justification for increasing access restrictions. Recently, the Texas Senate passed a bill allowing local authorities to close the beach on weekdays and limit access on weekends.

Environmental groups have criticized the creation of what they call a privatized beach, disguised as a security measure. They argue that turning a public resource into a corporate asset challenges the balance between economic investment and collective rights.

Global implications. This is the final stage of the Starbase case: a local experiment and a possible model for future corporate colonies seeking functional sovereignty. According to Fortune, if a coastal settlement can become a corporate-run municipality with control over land use, resident status, and public infrastructure like beaches, it signals a new era of territorial privatization.

In a world where megacorporations like SpaceX, Tesla, and X (all Musk-owned) continue to grow in power, Starbase could act as a prototype for similar projects in loosely regulated areas. In Musk’s vision, these cities are stepping stones for interplanetary expansion. But the Texas case suggests that conquering Mars might start with redrawing the political geography of Earth.

Image | Jeswin Thomas (Unsplash)

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