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Matías S. Zavia
WriterAerospace and energy industries journalist at Xataka.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Residents of the small community surrounding SpaceX’s headquarters in Boca Chica, southeast Texas, voted overwhelmingly to form the city of Starbase. The move gives Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s company an unprecedented level of autonomy to develop its massive Starship rocket.
Only six votes against. SpaceX began the legal process to turn its sprawling Texas complex into an independent city in December. The effort followed Musk’s decision to move SpaceX’s official headquarters from California to Texas in search of a more favorable regulatory and tax environment, with explicit support from Gov. Greg Abbott. Now that plan has come to fruition.
The vote took place Saturday and, according to the Cameron County Elections Department, resulted in 212 yes votes and just six no votes. This isn’t surprising, considering the vast majority of the roughly 283 eligible voters in the 2.42-square-mile area are SpaceX employees or their family members.
Who is the new mayor? The city of Starbase is governed by a three-member city commission, which, as expected, includes three people with ties to SpaceX who ran unopposed.
Bobby Peden, currently SpaceX’s vice president of Texas test and launch operations, will serve as mayor. Jenna Petrzelka, former engineering operations manager at Starbase, and Jordan Buss, SpaceX’s current senior director of environmental health and safety, will serve as the other two commissioners.
Why does SpaceX need its city? The key is the control and agility gained from the change. According to a letter to officials signed in late 2024 by Kathryn Lueders—Starbase CEO and former NASA human spaceflight director—Starbase will gain greater autonomy to streamline spacecraft development and advance Mars colonization.
With city status, the City Commission (controlled by SpaceX) has authority over zoning, construction projects, and other aspects of local governance. While it doesn’t override state or federal regulations, it gives SpaceX considerable power to set its own pace. The company already manages some infrastructure, such as the highway it frequently closes for testing and rocket launches. It has also provided medical care and education—such as Musk’s Astra Nova school—for employees’ families.
Starbase has a housing problem. By creating the city of Starbase, SpaceX has removed much of the bureaucratic friction that had slowed efforts to build infrastructure and attract talent to its Texas headquarters. One pressing issue is housing.
The company hasn’t been able to build enough housing for the hundreds of employees who want to live near Starbase. About 260 employees and their families live there now, while nearly 500 others—plus around 3,100 additional workers—commute from Brownsville and surrounding areas. Recently, the county denied an attempt to build more townhouses and rejected a bid for greater control over the nearby beach.
Controversial control over the beach. The creation of this “company town” hasn’t been without critics. Environmental groups and residents have long voiced concerns about Musk’s growing control over the area, especially access to Boca Chica Beach and the adjacent state park.
County approval is still required to close roads and beaches for launches and testing, but legislative efforts in Texas—pushed alongside the city’s creation—aim to give that authority directly to the Starbase mayor and city council. SpaceX argues that this would help expedite launches, especially as the company seeks federal approval to increase them from five to 25 per year.
Following in the footsteps of Toyota and Huawei. The creation of Starbase as a city mirrors strategies seen with Toyota City in Japan, Huawei’s massive residential and R&D campus in China, and urban projects like Google’s Sidewalk Toronto neighborhood in Canada.
For SpaceX, having its own city is another step toward consolidating its dominance in space launches with Starship, whose ultimate goal is to send humans to Mars. Now that Starbase is officially on the map, Musk has a little more control over his Texas fiefdom as he tries to turn that vision into reality. But controversy and scrutiny are sure to follow.
Image | Richard Schneider
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