Elon Musk's SpaceX Texas town tells residents they could lose rights to their property in shocking notice

Time of India

5 days ago

Live Events
FAQs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Elon Musk's company SpaceX has built a town in Texas called Starbase. This town used to be called Boca Chica Village . Starbase has now sent a notice to some residents, saying they might not be allowed to use their property the same way as before. The reason is a new zoning plan Starbase is working on.This plan will change how land in the town can be used. It includes creating a 'Mixed Use District'. The 'Mixed Use District' would allow homes, offices, shops, and small businesses to exist in the same area. Starbase will have a public hearing about this plan on June 23, 2025, where people can come and share their views, according to the report by CNBC.The hearing will happen at 39046 LBJ Boulevard, Brownsville, TX, starting at 9:00 a.m. The notice says clearly that residents could lose the right to continue using their property for its current purpose. According to ValleyCentral.com, the notice was signed by Kent Myers, the new City Administrator of Starbase.Kent Myers started the job recently and can be contacted for questions. His email was included in the notice. The zoning ordinance draft will be available 72 hours before the hearing on the city's website. Texas law requires the city to give this type of warning to property owners. By early 2025, around 500 people were living in Starbase, and about 260 of them worked directly for SpaceX.Most other residents are relatives of SpaceX employees. SpaceX uses the town for its Starship rocket testing facility and controls around 1.6 square miles of land there. On May 28, 2025, SpaceX did its 9th Starship test flight, but the rocket exploded again. This was the third failed test in a row. This information is from the report by CNBC.Elon Musk, who also runs Tesla, said the failures help the company learn from the data. The Federal Aviation Administration said no people were hurt and no public property was damaged in the explosion. Musk's big dream is for Starship to carry people to the Moon and Mars one day, as mentioned in the report by CNBC.Starbase officially became a 'type-C municipal corporation' after SpaceX won a local election earlier this month. Now, the town is mostly run by SpaceX employees or ex-employees. SpaceX has received over $20 billion in U.S. government contracts since 2008.Making Starbase a company town helps SpaceX do construction, testing, and rocket launches more easily without waiting for outside approvals. The town is also trying to get permission to close nearby roads and beaches during launches, without needing to ask other local authorities, as per reports.It's a plan to allow homes, offices, shops, and services in the same area.No, but they may lose the right to use it the way they do now.