Voters in a remote corner of Texas near both the Mexico border and the Gulf of Mexico have overwhelming conveyed a new informal title on Elon Musk: Starbase town patriarch.

The iconoclast behind SpaceX, Tesla, DOGE and more set out to incorporate the area around his Starship rocket launch facility near what was previously known as Boca Chica beach and village over four years ago. On Saturday, the tally of eligible voters in the area opted to incorporate the new city of Starbase, Texas, by a landslide decision of 212 votes in favor and just six against. The new municipality measures less than 2 square miles in area.

The result comes as no surprise, as it’s believed the vast majority of voters work at Starbase. Local Cameron County officials have also regularly touted SpaceX and Starbase as an engine of economic development for the area.

“Their presence has positively affected all the cities within Cameron County through increased tourism and new job opportunities,” Cameron County Judge and top local official Eddie Treviño Jr. said in a 2024 statement.

Starbase voters also elected three SpaceX employees to serve as the town’s new mayor and a pair of commissioners. All three, including mayor-elect and company VP Bobby Peden, ran unopposed.

Converting Starbase into what will pretty clearly be a company town puts certain zoning, infrastructure and public services decisions and administration under the control of the new municipality. The local government can also pursue other powers, like the ability to close the local beach for weekday launches, something that currently requires authorization from Cameron County.

Such authority would require approval from state legislators, and is opposed by otherwise supportive county officials like Treviño Jr.

Despite the overwhelming vote to incorporate, Starbase is not without its opponents, including some locals and activist groups in South Texas who cite environmental concerns over the rocket production, launch facility and purported “Gateway to Mars” envisioned by the company.

Several dozen people attended a demonstration on the beach in opposition to Starbase’s incorporation, according to a post from the South Texas Environmental Justice Network.

Musk has long envisioned Starbase as a key epicenter for his ambitions to sprinkle more humanity throughout the solar system, starting with a settlement on the surface of Mars via numerous Starship flights. The massive space vehicle has so far been exclusively developed, assembled and launched from Starbase, although it’s possible it could also one day launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Before making it to Mars, Starship is also scheduled to ferry astronauts to the moon in the coming years as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

In addition to the Starfactory rocket manufacturing facility and launch infrastructure, Starbase also provides support for employees and tourists, including roads, housing and basic amenities.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on future plans for the new city.