Starbase: the new Texan town created by Mayor Musk
The move to Texas
In the late 2010s, Elon Musk decided Texas was a better place to do business than California and moved X and SpaceX company headquarters there by 2020, which not all Texans were thrilled about, as Business Insider reports.
Rocket tests
In 2012, Musk's company SpaceX bought land near Boca Chica Village, a remote coastal area near the border with Mexico, for the manufacture and testing of its Starship rockets.
The creation of the Starbase town
Back then, there were 30 houses in the area; now there are 500 residents. Almost all of these are Musk employees. In May, they turned this SpaceX terrain at the southern tip of Texas into their own town, called "Starbase."
Local protests
Residents voted in favor of the establishment of this new municipality. But there have also been protests from locals in Boca Chica Beach.
The desire to be king
Most of the 283 people who voted in favor were SpaceX employees. The new company town covers approximately 3.9 square kilometers and was previously sparsely populated, according to the BBC.
SpaceX rules
The town is now run primarily by SpaceX employees, which has caused outrage among locals, as Business Insider reports.
Elon Musk immortalized
Most of the more than 3,000 people who work in Starbase are commuters and pass a nearly three-meter-tall bust of Musk each time they drive in and out.
The leap to Mars
Starbase covers 4.5 square kilometers and serves as the main development and testing site for SpaceX's Starship rocket program. Teslas also drive around here, and aside from the occasional protest, it feels like a Musk fan zone. This is what the privately built houses there look like.
A law unto itself
The feeling is that a large clan has taken over the area. By establishing the town, SpaceX also has more control over local logistics and planning. Musk can save money this way and is already dreaming of imposing his own laws, reports Die Welt.
Tesla diners
Starbase is also to be the second location for Musk's retro-futuristic Supercharger and Diner. The first of these Tesla Diners has already opened in Hollywood.
The occupation of Mars
Musk's ultimate goal is to reach Mars with his rockets. It's all part of the "Occupy Mars" mission. Many scientists consider this idea pure nonsense, as Der Spiegel reports.
The ubiquitous X in Tesla Town
According to the Texas Tribune, Texas lawmakers have agreed to grant the new city of Starbase the authority to periodically close the adjacent Boca Chica Beach to rocket launches. It's not a busy place, but locals are still irked by the imposition.
SpaceX and the Musk clan
This gives municipal officials with close ties to SpaceX more power, despite objections from local activists. Now, in this Musk company compound, many people are walking around wearing "Occupy Mars" T-shirts, and there's an X everywhere.
Musk's America Party
Musk previously shared his dream of life on Mars with Donald Trump, but the two egomaniacs have fallen out, and Musk's popularity has declined. He has since founded his own party, the America Party, which is likely to soon gain a majority at least in Starbase.
Burnout?
Since he became the chainsaw-wielding public face of federal job and spending cuts, Tesla's profits have plummeted. And while his rocket business attracts scientists and observers, it also burns millions.
