First, we got punitive tariffs. Now, another Late Gilded Age favourite is back: the company town.
What happened: Starbase, the Texas launch site of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, incorporated as a city. Residents of the proposed city limits were allowed to vote on the measure, which passed nearly unanimously — unsurprising as it’s mostly SpaceX employees who live there.
Why it’s happening: Starbase can now raise funds through taxes, acquire property through eminent domain, and create its own zoning rules. But the main prize of incorporation appears to be the potential power to close a popular beach on weekdays for launches.
- Starbase has to work with county officials on beach closures, but Texas legislators have been weighing a proposal to give Starbase those powers, contingent on incorporation.
Why it matters: The company town, where a single employer owned most or all of a town’s housing and businesses, was once a 19th-century relic. But the idea kinda came back in the 21st century as tech giants created sprawling campuses — now it’s very literally returned.
- Google is planning a massive neighbourhood around its HQ in California, Meta is doing the same thing with “Zucktown,” and Musk wants a Tesla town, too.
Bottom line: Companies had outsize control over the workers in their towns, even paying them in cash that could only be used at company stores. Now, we’re not saying Musk is going to start paying workers in Dogecoin or anything, but consider it food for thought.—QH