A city for Elon Musk's space base is about to become a reality.

Magnate Elon Musk 's dream of creating a home for his SpaceX space base in Texas , in the southern United States, could come true this Saturday, when voters give the green light to the city of Starbase.

It will be mostly SpaceX employees, who already live in this 4km2 area near Boca Chica Bay in Cameron County, on the border with Mexico, who will vote to create the city from where Musk will focus his efforts to conquer Mars.

Nearly 500 people already live on the land, largely owned by SpaceX or its employees, just outside Brownsville and have been established around the base, according to official documents.

There are 283 eligible voters eligible to cast their ballots this Saturday until 7:00 p.m. local time, although most have already cast their ballots early. Musk is registered, Cameron County Elections Coordinator Remi Garza told AFP. As of the close of early voting on April 29, the billionaire had not yet cast his ballot.

The creation of this city could be a balm for Musk, whose leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by the Donald Trump administration, appears to be coming to an end amid criticism and multi-million-dollar losses at Tesla, his flagship company, which would force him to resume his business.

This Saturday, they'll also be electing their mayor. Bobby Peden, SpaceX's vice president of Test and Launch, is the only one on the ballot for this position, according to LinkedIn.

SpaceX's base in Texas began operations in 2019, and from there it has conducted various tests with its Starship mega-rocket.

Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, told AFP that "Starbase, by becoming a city, will only cause more environmental destruction in the region."

"There would be more illegal waste dumping, they would increase their dangerous rocket operations, and they would cause more seismic activity that would shake our homes and destroy more wildlife habitat," he added.

Environmental concerns

Four years ago, it was Musk himself who, posting a photo while visiting SpaceX, suggested the name: Starbase, Texas.

In December 2024, SpaceX CEO Kathryn Lueders sent a letter to County Judge Eddie Trevino, the highest authority in the jurisdiction, requesting that "Starbase be incorporated as a city."

In his letter, released by the press, Lueders reminded Treviño that SpaceX already leads several activities in the area, "including the management of roads, public services, and the provision of education and healthcare for residents." After meeting the legal requirements, a vote was called.

The manager assured that the creation of the new city will not interfere with her commitment to mitigating the environmental effects that the space base has on the area.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.

The city overlooks the Gulf of Mexico—renamed by Trump as the "Gulf of America"—and there is controversy over free access to Boca Chica beach.

This week, a Texas House committee rejected a bill by Republican lawmakers that would have handed over control of beach access to coastal cities with spaceports.

For environmentalist Hinojosa, SpaceX has been cutting off access to Boca Chica beach for many years and believes that, by becoming a city, they could "completely lose access to the beach," where their "families have been going for generations."

The Carrizo Comecrudo tribe, which lives in the area, has also made a claim.

In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency fined SpaceX for spills and discharges of liquids into wetlands connected to the Rio Grande. In response to reports that its rockets had harmed wild birds, Musk quipped that he wouldn't eat omelets for a week.