Musk wants to kick all residents out of this tiny Texas town
Elon Musk bought a tiny town in the middle of Texas. Now, he wants to evict all the residents in preparation for his ‘Utopia’.
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Elon Musk wants to build a city on Mars.
And now, a tiny Texas town is getting a serve of what life in his personal utopia may be like.
Last month, the tech billionaire took control of Boca Chicha Village, a community of about 500 people on the Lone Star State’s southeastern corner.
About 260 of them work for his company, SpaceX.
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The world’s richest man has already built a launch facility there, with its Super Heavy Starship program providing regular fireworks displays over the adjoining Gulf of Mexico.
Musk has already renamed the town Starbase.
And he has sweeping plans for its future role as a staging point for his lofty Mars colonisation project.
Musk has detailed his dream of building a massive industrial complex to churn out 500 massive rockets for launch from five adjoining launch pads by 2033.
But the locals are already getting in the way.
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And Musk is in a hurry.
“The City is required by Texas law to notify you of the following: THE CITY OF STARBASE IS HOLDING A HEARING THAT WILL DETERMINE WHETHER YOU MAY LOSE THE RIGHT TO CONTINUE USING YOUR PROPERTY FOR ITS CURRENT USE.”
So reads the first memo issued to town residents last week. Put simply, homeowners in what was a quiet beachside community until recently are facing eviction.
Starbase city
“Our goal is to ensure that the zoning plan reflects the City’s vision for balanced growth, protecting critical economic drivers, ensuring public safety, and preserving green spaces,” the memo reads. “You are receiving this notice because you own the above-listed property that will be located in the ‘Mixed Use District’ and will be impacted if the zoning ordinance is approved.”
Residents must submit any comment in writing before 3pm, June 22. The proclamation will be discussed at an open hearing the following day - three days after the SpaceX rezoning plans are revealed.
It was not the outcome residents expected.
Boca Chica Village was corporatised as Starbase on May 3.
The small community, situated some 30km from the nearby Brownsville city, voted 212 votes for and six against accepting SpaceX’s offer to turn it into a company town.
A promised $15 million shopping centre, increased trade and new housing developments proved appealing. That’s despite SpaceX launches causing its beach - once a popular holiday and camping destination - to be regularly evacuated for safety concerns.
The town is now run by SpaceX employees and investors.
Musk’s rocket business already has a dominating presence. Established in 2012, its adjoining facility now draws 3400 full-time employees from the surrounding region.
The Texas state government is keen to assist.
It approved the commercial takeover of the town. SpaceX can now set its own standards and community statutes while ignoring local environmental regulations. (SpaceX is already facing more than $A250,000 in Environmental Protection Agency fines for illegally dumping pollutants into a local waterway).
The Republican-dominated state this week amended legislation to enable SpaceX - not elected Cameron County district officials - to close the beach, surrounding roads (including a State Highway) and coastal waters at the drop of a hat.
Local fishermen, indigenous communities, county officials and environmentalists oppose the move.
Lofty ambitions
Musk has resigned his post as Special Government Employee overseeing the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He even swapped out of his usual “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” shirt into an “Occupy Mars” outfit to mark the occasion.
After failing to make inroads in a promised $US1 trillion of efficiency savings and creating substantial chaos along the way, he’s now waging a war of words with his former employer over the future of the US economy.
That means he has more time to commit to the source of his wealth - the embattled electric vehicle company Tesla.
And to his dream of leaving his worldly troubles behind.
It went off with a bang. His ninth attempt to launch a prototype Starship Heavy - the 122m tall behemoth behind all his plans - last week ended in flaming pieces.
But, during his three months as a public servant, Musk secured several new defence contracts for his thriving space business. And that potentially means more work for Starbase City.
Musk’s Florida and Texas launch facilities are already undergoing significant upgrades.
Starbase City’s BFR (Big F****** Rocket) production facility is getting an enormous robotic assembly plant. Components will be inserted at one end of the “Gigabay” hangar, and a glistening new Starship Heavy will come out the giant double doors at the other.
Musk has promised to send at least five of these enormous rockets to Mars in 2026. Each is supposed to carry 10 tonnes of cargo to plant a supply cache of critical components on the Red Planet’s surface.
By 2029, SpaceX aims to have 20 Starship Heavy’s capable of carrying 75 tonnes each. The idea is to deliver the heavy vehicles and materials needed to construct a landing pad robotically.
This must ramp up in 2031 when a fleet of rockets is scheduled to deliver 100 landers, each carrying 150 tonnes of prefabricated habitats, supplies - and the first human colonists.
By 2033, Musk’s vision is for 500 Starship Heavy’s, each carrying 300 tonnes. These will surge to Mars with everything needed to build his independent, self-sustaining - corporately run - colony.
Musk says he may consider boarding one of his rockets himself; “Especially if I’m getting old, I’ll do it. Why not?”
However, he told a 2022 interview he was somewhat more down to Earth.
“I think there’s some non-trivial chance of dying, so I’d prefer to take that chance when I’m a bit older and see my kids grow up … Rather than right now, where little X is only two-and-a-half. I think he’d miss me.”
Any Martians occupying his intended landing site, however, may face eviction …
Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @jamieseidel.bsky.social
Originally published as Musk wants to kick all residents out of this tiny Texas town
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