Tuesday may not have been a stellar day for Elon Musk, but there was one exception. As the New York Times reports, voting kicked off yesterday at a building that sits on a stretch of land at Texas's southern tip. Among the questions being weighed: Should Starbase, Texas, become an official Texas city? Starbase is the name Musk came up with four years ago for the 1.5-square-mile location where SpaceX constructs its rockets and sends them sky-high, and in the time since he decided he wanted it to be more than just a name. There are 279 people eligible to cast a ballot, and a few dozen did so Tuesday. Voting extends through May 3.
Voters will also weigh in on who would serve as mayor and the two city commissioners. The Times reports the residents of the would-be town of Starbase—which is currently an unincorporated community within Cameron County, per Fox 7—would largely be SpaceX employees and their families; fewer than 500 people live there now. The makeup of the registered voters reflects that: two-thirds male, with an average age of 27. One male SpaceX employee indicated he voted in the affirmative: "It's really starting to grow and a lot of people are moving out here, so it does make sense to be incorporated, especially with the distance to Brownsville." That city is a roughly 40-minute drive away.
As for how incorporating could help Musk, the Times notes it would potentially make it easier for SpaceX to close the beach, a move required for safety during its weekday launches. Right now, the county has to give its blessing, but a bill under consideration in the state would put that right in the city of Starbase's hands. (More Starbase stories.)
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