Can Elon Musk's Starbase shut down a public beach? TX Supreme Court to decide
Will the Supreme Court of Texas allow Elon Musk's Starbase to retain control over when a popular South Texas beach is closed? That is the question that the justices will ultimately deliberate after hearing oral arguments in a 2021 lawsuit filed by environmentalists in the Rio Grande Valley who say the closures violate the Texas Open Beaches Act.A grassroots group known as SaveRGV initially filed the lawsuit against Cameron County, which at the time held the power to order the closure of Texas state highway 4 during any so-called "spaceflight activities" SpaceX carries out at its launch facility at the southernmost point on the Texas coast. Last June, however, a new state law went into effect that transferred that power from the county to the mayor of Starbase.In the interim, the lawsuit has made its way through the Texas court system, eventually arriving on the doorstep of the state's highest court. On Thursday, the court's nine justices traveled to the Valley to hear oral arguments at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's Edinburg campus. It was a packed house, with dozens of local residents and hundreds of school children in attendance.Middle and high school students take their seats ahead of a special court proceeding by the Supreme Court of Texas. The nine justices of the Supreme Court heard oral arguments at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Center in Edinburg on Thursday, March 5, 2026. The court heard arguments regarding a challenge to the closure of public beaches in order to facilitate SpaceX rocket launches. (Dina Arévalo)The highway serves as the only highway connecting Starbase and Boca Chica Beach to the rest of the outside world. SaveRGV argues that shutting the highway down during launch windows improperly benefits SpaceX, a private company, in violation of the Texas Constitution. Lawyers for Cameron County, the Texas Attorney General's Office and the General Land Office, however, argue that the road closures are necessary to protect public safety. The AG's office further argues that the closures are permitted under a 2013 amendment to the Open Beaches Act that authorizes temporary closures for space-flight activities. The Federal Aviation Administration requires SpaceX to maintain an exclusion zone "for safety and security reasons" during launches. That zone extends across much of the desolate but popular beach.The law already gave the government the power to close public beaches in response to natural disasters, like hurricanes, or manmade ones, like oil spills. But SaveRGV argues that making an exception that benefits a private company like SpaceX is unconstitutional and that SpaceX is creating a hazard - something the group says isn't a scenario protected by the Open Beaches Act.The nine justices of the Supreme Court of Texas hear oral arguments during a special court proceeding held at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Center in Edinburg on Thursday, March 5, 2026. The court heard arguments regarding a challenge to the closure of public beaches in order to facilitate SpaceX rocket launches. (Dina Arévalo)"Here, what we have is a beach closure to facilitate the very risky, hazardous activity that puts the public in danger in the first place," said Maria Perales, the Austin-based attorney who spoke for SaveRGV during Thursday's oral arguments.State officials argue that SaveRGV doesn't correctly understand what the Open Beaches Act and its subsequent amendments mean. They argue that the law doesn't give the public "access to public beaches… uninterrupted for all time and under all circumstances."As each side delivered their arguments, the nine justices frequently stepped in to pepper the lawyers with questions. Now, the court will deliberate the arguments, but it could be months before they render their decision.This article originally published at Can Elon Musk's Starbase shut down a public beach? TX Supreme Court to decide.
