Musk achieves his desire for Texas. Spacex’s launch site is approved as a new Starbase city

Elon Musk’s South Texas House Spacex Rocket Company is now an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.

A vote on Saturday to formally organized Starbase as a city was approved by an unpleasant margin among the small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk employees in Spacex. With all the votes, the account was 212 in favor of 6 against, according to the results published online by the Cameron County Electoral Department.

Musk celebrated in a publication on its social platform, Xsaying it’s “now a real city!”

Starbase is the installation and launch of the Spacex Rocket program that has a contract with the Department of Defense and NASA that he hopes to send to the astronauts again to the Moon and someday on Mars.

Musk first floated Starbase’s idea in 2021 and the approval of the new city was safe. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, the majority are believed to be Starbase workers.

The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionairePopularity has declinedSince becoming thewhich was chain on the chainpublic face ofPresident Donald Trumpfederal job andPass cutsand the benefits to his Tesla The car company haskick.

Spacex has generally generated widespread support of local officials for their work and investment in the area.

But the creation of an official city company has also drawn critics who are concerned that it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with a potential authority to close a popular beach and a state park for releases.

The efforts of the city include bills in the state legislature to change this county authority to the mayor and the City Council of the new city.

All these measures occur, as Spacex calls on the federal authorities for permission to increase the number of launches in South Texas from five to 25 a year.

The city on the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexico border, only has about 3.5 square kilometers (3.9 square kilometers), crossed by some roads and were searched with AiRstream trailers and half -century houses.

Spacex officials have said little exactly why they want a company city and have not responded to comments applications by email.

“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” Starbase’s general director Kathryn Lueders wrote, wrote to local officials in 2024 with a request to put the city problem at the voting.

The letter said that the company already manages public roads and services, as well as “school provisions and medical care” for those who live on the property.

Spacex officials have told legislators that granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations. Spacex rockets and engine tests and even only move certain equipment around the launch base requires the closing of a local road and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.

Critics say that the beach closing authority should remain with the county government, which represents a larger population used by the beach and the park. Cameron County Judge, Eddie Trevino, Jr., said that the county has worked well with Spacex and that it does not need to be changed.

Another proposed bill would make it a Class B crime with up to 180 days in prison if anyone does not meet the order to evacuate the beach.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organized protests against the city vote and the theme of access to the beach, held another rally on Saturday, which attracted dozens of people.

Josette Hinooja, the young daughter was building Sandcastle nearby, she said she was participating in trying to secure continued access to a beach her family has enjoyed for generations.

With Spacex, Hinoássa said, “Some days are closed and some days you let yourself disappear,”

The organizer Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo Nation/Comecrudo de la Tribe de Texas, said that his ancestors have long been in the area, where Rio Grande encounters golf.

“It’s not just important,” he said, “it’s sacred.”

This story originally presented to Fortune.com

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