Elon Musk has won a vote to create his own Texas city as part of his ambitious pledge to colonize Mars.

The SpaceX boss will turn his company’s headquarters at Boca Chica – at the southern tip of the Lone Star State – into a city named Starbase.

Residents voted 173 to 4 to incorporate Starbase as a city, Bloomberg reported. 

Most of the voters residing there are employees of Musk at SpaceX, which he recently relocated to Texas instead of California due to the new gender identity laws.

Musk celebrated in a post on his social platform X, proclaiming that his creation is ‘now a real city!’

‘Being established as a city will enable us to further enhance the ideal community for the individuals who are constructing the future of humanity’s role in space,’ Starbase mentioned in a different post.

The election also designated the inaugural mayor of the city, Bobby Peden, along with two city commissioners – Jenna Petrzelka and Jordan Buss, all of whom have worked for or are currently working for SpaceX.

Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program that is under contract with the Department of Defense and NASA that hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.

Elon Musk has inched closer to obtaining his own city in Texas amid his ambitious plans to try and colonize Mars

The SpaceX boss is hoping to turn his company’s headquarters into a city named Starbase

Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program

Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain. Most of the 283 eligible voters in the area are Starbase workers.

The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionaire’s popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Donald Trump’s federal job and spending cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.

SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment in the area.

But the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics, who worry it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for rocket launches.

Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state Legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town’s mayor and city council.

All these measures come as SpaceX is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of South Texas launches from five to 25 a year.

The city at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border is only about 1.5 square miles, crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with airstream trailers and modest midcentury homes.

SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they to want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Bobby Peden, VP Texas Test and Launch at SpaceX was voted in as the city’s first mayor

A statue of SpaceX founder Elon Musk is seen near the town of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas

Most of the voters in Saturday’s ballot were Musk’s employees at SpaceX who already live there

‘We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,’ Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote to local officials in 2024 with the request to get the city issue on the ballot.

The letter said the company already manages roads and utilities, as well as ‘the provisions of schooling and medical care’ for those living on the property.

SpaceX officials have told lawmakers that granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations. 

SpaceX rocket launches and engine tests, and even just moving certain equipment around the launch base requires the closure of a local highway and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.

Critics say beach closure authority should stay with the county government, which represents a broader population that uses the beach and park.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr. has said the county has worked well with SpaceX and there is no need for change.

Another proposed bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail if someone doesn’t comply with an order to evacuate the beach.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organized protests against the city vote and the beach access issue, held another demonstration Saturday that attracted dozens of people.

Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain

Not everyone is thrilled with the proposal, which attracted protesters at the vote on Saturday

Critics worry establishing the city will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.

Josette Hinojosa, whose young daughter was building sandcastle nearby, said she was taking part to try to ensure continued access to a beach her family has enjoyed for generations.

With SpaceX, Hinojosa said, ‘Some days it’s closed, and some days you get turned away’.

Organizer Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribe, said his ancestors have long been in the area, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf.

‘It’s not just important,’ he said, ‘it’s sacred.’