A December 9 commission vote in the tiny border city of Starbase could unlock a sweeping property tax break for a SpaceX data center and gas-fired power plant valued at $24 billion.
The proposed facility, which would spread across more than 400 acres near the Port of Brownsville, represents one of the most ambitious industrial bets Elon Musk has yet placed in South Texas.
Starbase, a city of roughly 500 residents incorporated in 2021 largely through a petition organized by SpaceX employees, would be the governing authority approving any tax abatement and economic development agreement.
The city of Brownsville separately agreed in August to de-annex the land in question at SpaceX’s request, clearing a jurisdictional path for the project to move forward.
Corey Trinetti, founder of market research firm Measured AI, says the application timing is no accident, arguing that SpaceX wants construction authorized before newly elected Democrats can complicate the approval process.
The complex could be “fully approved prior to Hinojosa taking office,” Trinetti said, noting that SpaceX appears to have already begun preparatory work on both the data center and turbine infrastructure.
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Senator-elect James Talarico, both Texas Democrats, have expressed reservations about large-scale AI infrastructure projects, though each has signaled openness to engaging with Musk on the issue.
Musk disclosed to SpaceX investors last month that the company intends to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI computing capacity during 2027, underscoring just how central the South Texas site is to that broader strategy.
Because connecting to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid could take years, the proposed facility would rely on its own gas-fired generation in the interim, mirroring a model Musk has already employed at an AI data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
There is a certain irony in Musk’s tax-break pursuit: he relocated SpaceX and several of his other companies from California to Texas in recent years specifically to escape high taxes and heavy regulation.
Musk spent more than $440 million during the last election cycle in an effort to constrain Democratic gains in the midterms, making the current standoff with incoming Texas Democrats a particularly charged political dynamic.
Local residents near the Port of Brownsville have been mobilizing against what many describe as an unchecked expansion of industrial operations tied to Musk’s growing network of companies in the region.
