SpaceX confirms it’s eyeing public parkland, but says it won’t buy Boca Chica Beach
By Berenice Garcia, Alejandra Martinez and Emily Foxhall, The Texas Tribune
November 12, 2026
Correction, Nov. 13, 2026, 10:15 a.m. Central: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this headline incorrectly stated the entity providing new information on a potential deal for state park land. A Starbase city official provided the new information.
McALLEN — SpaceX confirmed Friday that it’s discussed buying 1,200 acres of public parkland near its South Texas rocket facility, but the company intends to preserve half the property as coastal habitat, and it has no plans to purchase Boca Chica beach.
The company’s statement is the first detailed response to media reports that Texas Parks and Wildlife officials had planned to discuss ceding control of Boca Chica State Park to a company owned by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
On Thursday, the city of Starbase said Boca Chica Beach was not a part of the land deal. Starbase City Administrator Cayetana Polanco said the proposed transaction concerned land surrounding SpaceX’s launch facility, not the beach itself.
“First, to be absolutely clear, nobody is buying or selling Boca Chica Beach,” Polanco said in a statement.
On Friday, SpaceX offered more details, addressing concerns raised by supporters of the park.
The company said that its proposal involves about 1,200 acres of land surrounding its Starbase launch facility — made up largely of mudflats and coastal dunes that are not used by people — rather than the beach itself.
“Our discussions have centered on land immediately adjacent to an active rocket launch facility, does not include the Texas coastline, and would create more recreational opportunities for Texans,” the company wrote.
South Texas Environmental Justice Network Co-Founder Bekah Hinojosa called the company’s statement “absolutely ludicrous.” Buying more land around the beach would still make it harder for people to access, she said, and the company had already proven in her mind that it can’t be trusted.
“SpaceX is actively destroying and polluting Boca Chica Beach,” she said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve seen SpaceX rocket debris blown up on pristine habitat. … SpaceX is an environmental disaster for our region.”
Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, said SpaceX’s assurances about Boca Chica Beach are a “red herring” that distract from the real issue — the sale of 1,200 acres of public land to a private entity.
“Under Texas’ Open Beaches Act, state-owned Gulf Coast beaches are protected for public use, and SpaceX cannot simply buy Boca Chica Beach and turn it into private property,” Metzger said in a statement. SpaceX already has a poor track record of protecting the state-owned park, he said.
“Its rocket launches have scattered debris across sensitive wildlife habitat, sparked fires in Boca Chica State Park and resulted in violations of clean water laws,” he said. “Texans have good reason to be skeptical of the company’s promises to protect this land.”
Potential sale
Texas Parks and Wildlife, the state agency responsible for managing and conserving state parks, had been in talks to give up control of 1,300 acres of land in Cameron County, according to a draft agenda for a Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting that was to be held in early November.
The draft agenda specifically referenced the “disposition” of the land which can mean a sale, trade, transfer or otherwise relinquishment of ownership.
The 1,300 acres of land are believed to be Boca Chica State Park as it is one of the largest pieces of land Texas Parks and Wildlife owns in Cameron County, according to county appraisal district records.
The finalized version of the agenda, however, did not include the potential disposition of the land and it is unclear whether the commission will consider the transaction in the future.
Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa had criticized the potential sale of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX and, following her stunning win over Gov. Greg Abbott in November’s elections, said she had spoken to the executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife to request that “no action be taken” on the sale during her transition.
The agency has remained silent on the proposed transaction and is trying to block the release of the draft agenda to the public.
Following Hinojosa’s remarks, Justin Minsker, a spokesperson for Texas Parks and Wildlife, said the agency was declining an interview but said it looked forward to working with her and all elected officials.
“We are not at liberty to discuss real estate transactions before they have been vetted by the TPW Commission,” Minsker said Friday after SpaceX commented on the issue. “Our Commission did not address this item at our November meeting. TPWD has an obligation to appropriately steward and conserve public lands for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations of Texans.”
SpaceX said it’s discovered people entering TPWD-managed land, including areas with sensitive coastal dunes, without authorization.
“An active launch facility has many complex and potentially hazardous operations taking place every day and allowing unrestricted access to the immediately adjacent area creates unnecessary risks,“ the company wrote.
The company said it intends to preserve 600 acres of coastal habitat. SpaceX also pointed to ongoing beach clean-up efforts with the city of Starbase, saying it has removed over 50 tons of trash weekly, invested in beach erosion protection and supported sea turtle rescue programs.
Details emerge on data center
SpaceX typically remains mum on details of their plans and rarely responds to questions from the media.
However, on Thursday, the company offered up some details about ongoing projects after news broke earlier this week of the company’s plans to build a $24 billion data center facility near the Port of Brownsville.
The new facility — which includes a gas-fired power plant and super-computing campus — will be used to train intelligence systems for applications in medical research, emergency response, advanced manufacturing and national security, SpaceX said in a news release Thursday. At the same time, the facility will be used to develop and test technologies for space-based computing.
With construction already underway, the project has created more than 3,000 construction jobs and is expected to have created more than 500 permanent jobs once the facilities are operational, the company said.
Though speculation around what SpaceX was building in the area had swirled for months, details of the project were publicly confirmed this week when the city of Starbase posted a notice of a public hearing scheduled for December during which Starbase city officials will discuss a potential tax abatement agreement for the project. The company is also seeking a tax break from the county, although details haven’t been made public yet.
Locals suspected SpaceX would build a data center on the property after the company asked Brownsville city commissioners to de-annex the land from their city limits. Brownsville was on the verge of advancing a temporary data center moratorium at the time of the request which the commissioners adopted last week.
In exchange for the de-annexation, SpaceX agreed to fund $220 million for Brownsville water and wastewater projects.
Data centers have faced new restraints across the state after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a pause on data center connections to the electric grid. However, SpaceX confirmed that its facility will generate its own electricity, bypassing the need to draw power from the Texas’ public grid.
During her campaign, Hinojosa said she would go further by banning all data center approvals until state lawmakers could pass laws “to protect Texans.”
In addition to their data center project, SpaceX’s activity in the area is only expected to increase even further as it is proposing to increase the frequency of its rocket launches and landings at its Starbase launch site from 25 a year to 100, and eventually increase that even further to 456.
The Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of evaluating SpaceX’s request.
Speaking publicly
The city of Starbase is largely inhabited by SpaceX employees and two of three city commissioners work for the company as well.
Like the company, the city has largely remained tight-lipped and shrouded in as much secrecy as a government organization can be under state law.
The streets of Boca Chica Village, the largest residential neighborhood in Starbase, have been closed off to the public and city officials have declined interviews and requests for comment.
In her statement, Polanco said the people of Starbase have worked to restore the beach, hosted weekly cleanup efforts, hosted Fourth of July events for the region and supported sea turtle conservation efforts.
“Nobody has done more to restore the beach than the people of Starbase,” Polanco said.
The city is also addressing beach erosion through a rehabilitation initiative with the Texas General Land Office.
Polanco added that the city looks forward to working with Hinojosa and her administration to accelerate those efforts.
“We would also be delighted to welcome her to Starbase, introduce her to her constituents here, proud Texans who are equally proud of what we’re helping build for the future of our state, and show her firsthand the extraordinary work happening in this community,” Polanco said.
Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune. 
