In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk's company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes — all around an area dubbed Starbase.

This is not even Musk’s first foray into company towns—a model that sees its roots in anti-labor organization and corporatist fascism. Farther north in Texas, near the outskirts of Austin, SpaceX operates Snailbrook, a city incorporated in 2021 and pitched as a sort of utopia for SpaceX and Boring Company employees.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., says registered voters in the proposed Starbase area will have an opportunity to vote on whether to incorporate as Starbase, Texas.