SpaceX’s Starbase has officially become a city following a decisive vote over the weekend. Starbase City officials seeks to increase SpaceX launches from five to 25 annually.

On Saturday, eligible residents—mostly SpaceX employees—voted 212 to 6 to incorporate a 1.6-square-mile patch of Cameron County, Texas, as the municipality of Starbase, according to results published by the county.

Starbase serves as the launch site for SpaceX’s rocket program, which holds contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense to return astronauts to the moon and eventually reach Mars. The new Starbase city is led by Mayor Bobby Peden, SpaceX’s vice president of Texas test and launch operations. Starbase City also has two commissioners with ties to SpaceX, who will oversee planning, taxation, and local governance. Starbase’s new Type C city status allows a property tax of up to 1.5%, per the Texas Municipal League.

Since SpaceX began acquiring land in 2012, Starbase has transformed from a sparsely populated area into a hub with company housing, facilities, a road named Memes Street, and even a giant bust of Elon Musk. The company’s investment has earned support from local officials for boosting jobs, but creating a company town has sparked some debate.

Proposed Texas legislation could grant Starbase’s government officials the authority to close a local highway and restrict access to Boca Chica Beach and State Park during launches. The proposal was opposed by Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr., who argues that beach access should remain under the control of Cameron County.

SpaceX is also seeking federal approval to increase annual launches from five to 25, with officials arguing that city-controlled beach closures would streamline operations.

“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” wrote Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders in a 2024 letter to local officials. Lueders noted that SpaceX already manages roads, utilities, schooling, and medical care. Critics warn that shifting authority to Starbase could limit public access to recreational areas.

As Starbase takes shape, its galactic identity underscores SpaceX’s bold vision. Yet, the balance between company control and public access remains a point of contention, with implications for South Texas and beyond.

A Waymo self-driving robotaxi caught a ton of attention on social media this weekend–but for the wrong reason.

The robotaxi in question was spotted in Tokyo, Waymo’s first offshore market for testing and data collection.

Waymo Pulled Over

As could be seen in the image, which was posted on X by user @YukkuriMasa1225, a Waymo robotaxi was seemingly pulled over by traffic police. The self-driving car could be seen stopped on the side of the road, while a traffic cop on a motorcycle seemed to be preparing a ticket for the robotaxi. 

The image caught a lot of attention on social media, garnering over 1 million impressions on X as of writing. Several comments poked fun at the idea of a robotaxi getting a ticket from the traffic police, while some joked that Waymo’s other vehicles could also be caught. That being said, there is a likely explanation behind the humorous ordeal.

Waymo’s Tokyo Rollout

Waymo’s robotaxi rollout in Tokyo started in April. While the vehicles are capable of driving autonomously, the robotaxis are still operated manually by drivers from Nihon Kotsu, one of Tokyo’s largest taxi companies. This means that the traffic stop that spread on social media was likely caused by a human driver’s actions, not Waymo’s self-driving system.

Waymo’s rollout in Japan is currently focused on the seven wards in central Tokyo, which are comprised of Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa, and Koto. Data gathered by the Nihon Kotsu drivers are expected to be used to adapt Waymo’s self-driving system for the Japanese market. 

The potential of Waymo’s robotaxis is vast, particularly with regard to road safety. Over 56.7 million miles, compared to human drivers, Waymo Driver achieved a 92% reduction in pedestrian injury crashes, 82% fewer crashes with injuries with cyclists, and 82% fewer crashes with injuries with motorcyclists.

A look at the typical Tesla news cycle would show that the vast majority of the coverage surrounding the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) program is negative.

Recently, however, Tesla’s FSD program finally got some media recognition, and from a major network too. 

FSD Unsupervised Recognition

FOX News’ Lara Trump recently featured Giga Texas in her show, My View with Lara Trump. During her visit, she was able to speak with Tesla employees and see how Gigafactory Texas operates firsthand. She was also able to see just how legitimate Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Unsupervised system really is. 

This could be seen in a video of Trump’s visit, which included her reaction to the unmanned Model Ys driving from the end of their production lines. “These cars are going to drive themselves. Look at this, there it goes! Nobody’s in there. Wow, that’s amazing. That is so cool. Only Elon Musk could do this,” Trump stated.

FSD Unsupervised Rollout

While Tesla is already using FSD Unsupervised on Giga Texas and the Fremont Factory, the company is planning on rolling out a robotaxi service using the self-driving system this June in Austin, Texas. Recent reports have suggested that Tesla is aiming to release its robotaxi service early next month. Tesla’s AI Team also seems to be hinting at an early June robotaxi rollout as well.

While Tesla FSD Unsupervised is expected to be rolled out to the company’s robotaxis in June, CEO Elon Musk has stated that FSD Unsupervised will also be rolled out to customer cars this year. This was highlighted by the executive in the Q1 2025 earnings call. “I’m confident that it will be available in many cities in the US by the end of this year,” Musk said. 

Watch Lara Trump’s Giga Texas tour in the video below.