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Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars. He’s starting with a tiny Texan town of 500 people — 260 of whom work for SpaceX — and a recent memo suggests the company may be expropriating their land.
CNBC (CMCSA+0.03%) reports that the town — formerly known as Boca Chica Village, in the furthest southeast corner of Texas — issued a memo to some Starbase residents on May 21, saying they might “lose the right to continue using” their property “for its current use.” It’s part of a zoning ordinance in a mixed-use district that will be debated at a June 23 public hearing.
Starbase was officially created on May 3, when residents of the community 20 miles outside Brownsville, Texas, voted 212 to 6 to incorporate. The town held its first public meeting on Thursday. The nearby SpaceX facility has 3,400 full-time employees, building and launching rockets.
The memo was sent to residents owning property in a planned mixed-use district, “a blend of residential, office, retail, and small-scale service uses.”
Musk’s primary residence is in Starbase. So is SpaceX’s launch facility, which is a short walk away from Boca Chica Beach, a popular local spot for fishing and camping. Every time a rocket is tested, the beach must be evacuated for safety — a serious concern, considering SpaceX’s track record of exploding rockets.
But no nearby injuries have ever been reported in the area due to launches. Working inside the SpaceX factory itself is more dangerous, according to a 2023 Reuters (TRI+0.10%) report.
SpaceX hopes to launch 25 rockets a year. It needs permission from Cameron County authorities to close the beach and clear the area, though there is a bill currently working its way through the Texas legislature that would allocate that authority to the new town. It is opposed by local environmentalists, fishermen, Indigenous leaders, and county commissioners, who say the current arrangement works just fine.
The town did not respond to a request for comment.