AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Elon Musk's wish to create his own city just came true. The Texas Newsroom's Lauren McGaughy reports on the results of a rather unusual election that just wrapped up outside of Brownsville in South Texas.
LAUREN MCGAUGHY, BYLINE: Elon Musk has wanted to create his own city for years. That dream became a reality on a rainy Saturday at the SpaceX rocket launch site on the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, voters that live around the facility cast their ballots to incorporate the new city of Starbase. Only 283 people were eligible to vote, those who live within the boundaries of the proposed new city, all but a handful of them work for SpaceX, and were unwilling to talk. It's not clear if Musk himself cast a ballot. One couple who declined to give their names, but said they don't work for SpaceX, were among the few who did say how they voted.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I voted no (laughter). I'm sure we're the only ones out here who did.
MCGAUGHY: She was right. Almost everyone who voted cast a ballot in favor of the new city. As of 10 p.m. Texas time, the race had already been called, with 97% voting for. Creating the new city means SpaceX will have more control over how this area is developed and run, and may make it eligible for more government grants and other incentives. The vote also clears the way for Starbase to try to capture more control over the nearby public beach, which must be closed for rocket launches. On Election Day, a few dozen activists gathered on the beach in protest with an Elon Musk pinata in tow. They said local and state officials have not properly protected the land and their access to it. Juan Mancias is from the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. They trace their creation story to this beach and the river that lends it its name.
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JUAN MANCIAS: This is the fight right here right now. This is where we have to be. This is our home. Our home.
MCGAUGHY: This might not be the last city created in Musk's image in Texas. The Tesla CEO has also floated incorporating a new town at his corporate complex outside Austin.
For NPR News, I'm Lauren McGaughy reporting from Starbase, Texas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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