It’s now within the realm of possibility that SpaceX could be paid in crypto company scrip because Elon Musk is now in control of a company town. Starbase, Texas will become an officially incorporated city after a public vote on Saturday. Admittedly, the electorate wasn’t entirely neutral heading to the polls. Most of the 283 eligible voters were SpaceX employees. Starbase will soon have the authority to pass laws, grant permits and collect taxes.
The results of Saturday’s vote were 212 votes in favor and only six votes against the proposal. Starbase established its own government with a mayor and two commissioners, according to the BBC. Bobby Peden, a SpaceX vice-president, was elected mayor after running unopposed. The two commissioner positions were filled by Starbase residents with ties to SpaceX. We already have an idea of what the private space company has in mind for the small town in Texas. There’s already a bill in the Texas Legislature to allow Starbase to close State Highway 4, Boca Chica Beach and Boca Chica State Park for rocket launches. SpaceX aims to ramp up the number of launches per year at Starbase from five to 25.
SpaceX was already damaging the environment around Starbase
SpaceX has been launching from Starbase since 2019, but the city’s incorporation also carries concerns that the company will use its new power to cause further environmental damage in South Texas. According to Deutsche Welle, Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, said:
“They would attempt more illegal dumping, they would build up their dangerous rocket operations and cause more seismic activity, cause our homes to shake, and that they would destroy more of the wildlife habitat in the region.”
Federal and state regulators found last year that SpaceX was polluting nearby waters with its deluge system. The company was dumping the water used to absorb the heat and sound waves from launching rockets back into the environment. This is just the contamination when everything goes to plan. Things are much worse when SpaceX’s rockets explode on the launch pad or early in their ascent. A 2023 Starship explosion left a 385-acre debris field and sparked a 3.5-acre fire. It should be worrying that SpaceX could have complete control over Starbase with little or no oversight.
