Elon Musk moves to make Starbase, Texas, the official 'gateway to Mars'

Months after announcing he was moving SpaceX's headquarters out of California, Musk exclaimed in an X post last week that "SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!"

The rocket catch is part of SpaceX's "Starship" program, which is housed in its Starbase facilities and is seeking to make the first fully reusable rocket designed to propel manned missions to establish a human presence on the moon and Mars.

But to get to Mars, SpaceX says it needs Starbase, Texas, to become official.

According to Lueders, incorporating Starbase will streamline the process to make Starbase a "world-class place to live" and enable the Starship program to "fundamentally alter humanity's access to space."

"This is the final straw," Musk said on X. "Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas."

Now, Lueders said that SpaceX is investing billions in infrastructure in Cameron County and generating hundreds of millions in income and taxes for local businesses and government, "all with the goal of making South Texas the gateway to Mars." 

In her letter to Trevino, Lueders called Starbase a one-of-a-kind location for SpaceX's future.

"Starbase is a one-of-a-kind location for manufacturing, testing, and launching the most advanced rocket and spaceships ever conceived - a fully and rapidly reusable system that paves the way for humanity's return to the Moon and eventual travel to Mars," she said. "We look forward to continuing its transformation into a world-class hub for the men and women working to make life multiplanetary."