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News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Musk wants to kick all residents out of this tiny Texas town
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. 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. 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 …
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Elon Musk's controversial Starbase city rises in Texas, but critics raise alarm on pollution, zoning and ‘colonisation' of sacred land
STARBASE (Texas), June 6 — Elon Musk has a long way to go before colonising Mars, but the controversial billionaire already has his own city on a flat patch of Texas, where giant, experimental Starship rockets roar over the incongruous sight of dolphins — and some sceptical human neighbours. Starbase on the south Texas coast is HQ for the Starship project and something of a shrine to its South African-born founder, the world's richest man and until recently one of President Donald Trump's closest advisors. Musk's short Washington tenure spearheading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, ended last week, with a vow to get back to his day job of running his business empire, including SpaceX, Tesla and Starlink. The departure came as investors grew increasingly nervous about the spillover from Musk's reputational damage after publicly allying himself to Trump and tearing through the US government in search of spending cuts. Now he hopes to hunker down in Starbase near the Mexican border and get back to the matter of reaching Mars. The scene is a curious mix of futuristic high-tech and down-to-earth attractions for a city that was officially incorporated in May but remains very much a work-in-progress. Cars speed down the narrow Boca Chica Boulevard leading to Starbase, where an AFP film crew was not allowed to enter. A huge bust of Musk on the outskirts of the settlement was vandalised in April and now stands with the right cheek peeled off, covered by a giant plaster. A cluster of buildings rises near the launch site, including an imposing corporate tower that bears Musk's X logo and prefabricated houses painted black, white, and gray. For now, the city has only about 500 residents, some still living in trailers and some in the prefab homes, which have patios and outdoor grills. Looming over the landscape are two models of super heavy launchers and one Starship rocket. 'I think it's pretty cool, making a whole entire city based around a launch site,' said 21-year-old computer engineer Dominick Cardenas who was visiting the area for the unsuccessful test launch last week. 'Maybe I'll move down here one day. Who knows? I'd love to go to Mars, who wouldn't?' This photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows a damaged bust of Elon Musk with a plaque reading "Elon aka MemeLord by ElonRWA on BASE" outside Brownsville, Texas. — AFP pic Environmental impact But the space city is surrounded by nature and wildlife, especially birds. Activist Christopher Basaldu, who is a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Native American tribe and holds a PhD in sociocultural anthropology, called Musk a 'coloniser.' 'The land here is sacred to the original inhabitants of the area. And SpaceX is polluting and desecrating this land,' he told AFP. There are two federal wildlife refuges in the area where SpaceX operates: the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the Laguna Atascosa. There is also the Boca Chica Beach, where residents have been spending their summers for decades and which is now closed during test flights. 'There isn't supposed to be exploding rockets next to pristine wetlands and habitat,' Hinojosa said. In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency fined SpaceX for unauthorised discharges of water from its deluge system into wetlands near its Starbase launch pad connected to the Rio Grande. Despite protests by Hinjosa and other groups, SpaceX received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to increase the number of launches per year from five to 25. Hinojosa calls it 'very much a David versus Goliath situation.' 'We are one of the poorest communities in the country... and we're dealing with the biggest bully on the planet, Elon Musk,' she said. 'Elon Musk has so much power that he's found a way around most of our lawsuits,' she added. View of the SpaceX's building outside Brownsville, Texas on May 28, 2025. — AFP pic Mall, restaurants, power plant According to a document obtained by CNBC, Starbase City officials have notified the residents that they might 'lose the right to continue using' their property as they currently do. A hearing is scheduled for the end of June to discuss the new zoning plan. SpaceX is also building the Rio West giant shopping mall and restaurant complex near Starbase, valued at $15 million, according to official filings. And environmental activists worry that the Rio Grande liquified natural gas plant being built in the neighbouring city of Brownsville, which has the capacity to process methane, a gas that powers Starship, could become Musk's fuelling station. SpaceX representatives, Starbase City Mayor Bobby Peden as well as Cameron County officials did not respond to AFP requests for comment for this story. — AFP
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
SpaceX's town in Texas warns residents may lose property rights
Homer Pompa has lived in a rural area on Texas's southernmost tip, near the U.S.-Mexico border, for more than a half-century. Since 2014, the 75-year-old Brownsville native has watched his tiny coastal community transform into ground zero for Elon Musk's SpaceX and its billion-dollar effort to colonize Mars. Then, last month, more than 200 people — many of them SpaceX employees — voted to turn Pompa's parcel of land and parts of unincorporated Boca Chica Village into a city named Starbase. Weeks later, the disabled Vietnam War veteran received a letter from the newly created city informing him that he is at risk of losing the 'right to continue using your property for its current use' as the city reviews its zoning.
Gizmodo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
SpaceX's Company Town May Force Its Residents to Leave Their Homes
It's been less than a month since Elon Musk got his dream town in Boca Chica, Texas, and Starbase is already a nuisance. The SpaceX town has issued a memo to residents about a new zoning ordinance and updated citywide map that could impact how they use their property. Starbase, Texas, sent the memo to residents who own property within a 'mixed-use district' that will allow for 'residential, office, retail, and small-scale service uses,' according to a copy of the memo obtained by CNBC. The company town is set to hold a hearing on June 23 at city hall to allow for public comment on its new zoning plan 'THAT WILL DETERMINE WHETHER YOU MAY LOSE THE RIGHT TO CONTINUE USING YOUR PROPERTY FOR ITS CURRENT USE,' the memo read in all caps. It's not exactly clear what this terse, oddly worded warning means, or if it implies that certain residents of Starbase could get kicked out of their homes. If someone loses the right to use their residence as they do now, does that mean they can't even sleep there? The memo mentions that the so-called mixed-use district will be for residential use, as well as office and retail, so perhaps some of the homes will have to be transformed into something else. Either way, residents were ominously warned to attend the upcoming hearing to find out their fate. Earlier in May, residents voted in favor of turning Starbase into its own city. The city spans about 1.6 square miles (4.1 square kilometers) and is home to roughly 500 nearby residents, the majority of whom are SpaceX employees and contractors. SpaceX began buying land in the area in 2012 to set up shop for its rocket business. The company has expanded its presence with housing and other facilities, and even announced tentative plans to open a $15 million shopping center. Musk first pitched the idea of turning Starbase into its own city in 2021, a long-held dream that could grant SpaceX the right to build more facilities and change the surrounding landscape. The company is currently trying to gain control of public beach closures and the closing down of roads in Boca Chica for rocket launches, ground testing, or other related activities during the week. The company's frequent rocket launches have already been disruptive to the local community and the surrounding wildlife. Now that Starbase is a city, it may increase the company's municipal authority and allow it to overstep regulatory red tape designed to protect the environment. SpaceX is facing fines of almost $150,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly illegally dumping pollutants into a Texas waterway without a permit. SpaceX, however, claims otherwise. '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,' Starbase wrote in the memo to its residents. The company has invested in the area by generating jobs and attracting space tourists to watch its rockets lift off to space, but its increased influence does come at a price.
Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Elon Musk vows more Starship launches despite latest flight test failure
Elon Musk has promised one Starship launch 'every three to four weeks' after his vision for sending humans to the moon and Mars suffered a fresh setback with the fiery loss of another mega-rocket prototype high above Earth. What was intended to be a 56-minute sub-orbital test flight from Texas to a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean ended in fireworks after a propellant leak caused the spacecraft to spin out of control and re-enter the atmosphere as a blazing shower of debris. 'As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,' the company stated, using a corporate euphemism for 'catastrophic break-up'. It added: 'Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.' It was the third out of three test flights to be lost this year and the ninth flight overall of the fully-stacked Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster — the world's most powerful rocket. It was also the first time Starship has flown with a recycled booster, which launched the ship successfully from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, before separating as scheduled but then exploding during its descent. The upper stage vehicle flew on, streaking east through the Caribbean, across the Atlantic Ocean and over southern Africa at a peak speed of 26,316mph, appearing as an orange ball streaking across the night sky. Engineers watching from the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, whooped in celebration as it checked off mission milestones such as lighting all its engines to reach its planned trajectory, but groaned as it failed others, including being unable to deploy a batch of simulated Starlink satellites when the payload door jammed. 'We're trying to do something that's impossibly hard and we're not going to reach it in a straight line; there's going to be bumps, there's going to be turns,' said Dan Huot, SpaceX's communications manager. SpaceX intends to execute up to 25 flight tests this year as Musk seeks to deliver on his declared goal of sending the first Starship to Mars next year, carrying Optimus, a robotic humanoid passenger. Vast technological challenges have yet to be resolved, however, before such a mission could stand a chance of success. Nasa, the US space agency, is banking on SpaceX having a version of Starship ready for landing humans on the moon as part of the Artemis III lunar mission. The mission is officially targeted for late 2026, though the timeline is certain to slip as both the US space agency and SpaceX struggle against an overly ambitious timeline. SpaceX operates an engineering methodology of 'rapid iterative design' — building a prototype fast and relatively cheaply, pressing it into action, then using the lessons learned to improve the next one and repeat the cycle. It is an unconventional approach that comes with a higher expectation of failure as SpaceX pushes hardware to its limits to get the data it needs. The last two test flights in January and March terminated before they had reached those limits due to propellant leaks and engine fires — problems that Musk said hours before Tuesday's flight test that he was '80 per cent' hopeful had been fixed. He was eager for this flight to be all about testing the heat shield, which is comprised of silica-based ceramic composites designed to withstand the temperatures of more than 1,400C generated during the spacecraft's re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. 'Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review. Launch cadence for next three flights will be faster, at approximately one every three to four weeks,' Musk posted on X on Wednesday. Jessie Anderson, a senior engineering manager at SpaceX, said: 'This is the SpaceX way … we're going to learn and iterate, and iterate over and over again 'til we iron it out.'
