GreekReporter.comBusinessElon Musk Planning His Very Own Texas Town

Elon Musk Planning His Very Own Texas Town

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Philadelphia DA Elon Musk
Elon Musk interviewed by Chris Anderson at TED2017 – The Future You, April 24-28, 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Bret Hartman / TED via Flickr.

After relocating some of Tesla’s main operation centers to Texas, where SpaceX is situated, Elon Musk is planning on his very own company town, something he has spoken about for a while now, on the southern coast of Texas. He refers to the town as Starbase. This is something no other industry mogul has attempted to do in practically a century.

The plan seemed unfeasible for years, primarily because establishing a brand-new municipality in Texas also demands a minimum population and voter base. However, things seem to be changing.

Many SpaceX employees live in re-conditioned, mid-century homes and temporary housing, such as trailers, surrounding Space X’s center of operations. Employees living near the company’s headquarters have now taken the first steps toward fulfilling Elon Musk’s plans for a corporate settlement, officially filing a petition to hold an election.

Details of Elon Musk’s town revealed through the petition

The petition filed by SpaceX employees in Cameron County was shared with The New York Times, and the major media outlet exposed some of the initial details of Musk’s Starbase town.

According to the Starbase petition, Musk’s community will be one of 500 inhabitants distributed among 219 primary residents and more than 100 children in an area near Boca Chica Beach, where SpaceX carries out most of its rocket launches.

Elon Musk City
A screenshot from Boca Chica beach captured in Google Maps. Credit: Luis Mendoza/Greek Reporter.

The proposed town would also be around 1.5 miles, which is small by Texas standards, but larger than Central Park. It was also stated in the petition that almost all of the current residents rent and are SpaceX employees.

At this time, it is unclear what Elon Musk and SpaceX’s purpose for establishing Starbase is. Most new communities in the United States are usually founded by individuals who wish to keep an area from being annexed by another settlement or keep certain businesses from expanding into their area.

Elections could take place next year

The petition for the town is currently being examined by the county, and, if approved, elections could be scheduled for as early as next year, 2025. In fact, voters could cast ballots for three new city officials, as well as the city’s first mayor, who, according to The New York Times—and based on the petition—would be Gunnar Milbur, SpaceX’s security manager.

The petition to found Starbase seems to have garnered a fair amount of support, as the majority of area residents live in housing owned by SpaceX, and most of the real estate is owned by the company. It is also the case that most residents who don’t themselves work for the company have family members who do. Therefore, one can assume that most inhabitants would vote in favor of the planned town.

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