Good fences make good neighbors, but they’re of little use when rockets are being tested next door. Elon Musk is being accused of causing major disruption for a small Texas community with incessant construction and rocket trials.
Musk’s SpaceX began its operations near Boca Chica, Texas in 2014. The quiet beach-side community had just 26 residents, according to the 2000 census, but life changed dramatically when the aerospace manufacturer and space transport company rolled into town.
This is a thread about what it’s like to be Elon Musk’s neighbor.
Writer Rachel Monroe has detailed what life is like living in the shadow of Musk’s venture. In a viral Twitter thread detailing the disruption, she outlined that the quiet community close to a wildlife preserve now has round-the-clock construction with big trucks and bright lights running at all hours.
“A sheriff’s deputy bangs on your door at 10pm and tells you there’s a rocket test that night between 3-4am. Now, this is a mile from your house. And every previous rocket has blown up,” Monroe writes.
“So you can either cross your fingers that nothing bad happens, or grab your pets and try to find somewhere safe to hunker down at night in the middle of the pandemic. This has happened nearly every night since May 3.”
The exasperated resident added that SpaceX routinely commandeers the local beach and went on to claim that the state of Texas is encouraging the disruptive behaviour.
Musk previously said that SpaceX would be seeking to buy out the locals in order to build a prototype village in the area. However, several have reportedly rebuffed the offers.
So: Elon is essentially taking over public resources (beaches, wildlife preserves) & other people’s property just bc he wants it, and Texas is not only permitting but encouraging him. (This state pretends to love private property, but it loves corporations more.)
“It’s infuriating. There are SO few places like Boca Chica left. It’s beautiful, undeveloped, beloved by locals, part of a key wildlife corridor. A place where people without a lot of money can live near the beach. And Elon Musk has just taken it over because he wants it,” Monroe added.
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