SpaceX proposes a $24 billion gas plant and supercomputer at Starbase

TL;DR: A public hearing notice posted by the City of Starbase on November 6 says SpaceX proposes to construct, own and operate a gas-fired power plant and a "super-compute facility" on about 444 acres just east of Brownsville, Texas. It puts the capital investment for the initial phases at about $24 billion. The city commission will consider a property tax abatement for the project on December 9. Nothing has been approved.

What the notice says

According to the one-page notice, as quoted by Gateway to Mars and The 956 Report:

• The applicant and property owner is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., a Texas corporation.
• The project is described only as "a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility."
• The "estimated capital investment for initial phases of the project is approximately $24 billion," and the project "may be constructed over multiple phases and include future expansions."
• The site is "an approximately 444-acre tract just east of the City of Brownsville, between Boca Chica Blvd and the Port of Brownsville," inside Starbase city limits in Cameron County.
• The commission will consider a property tax abatement agreement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code and a related economic development agreement under Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code.

What it does not say

The notice gives no figures for how much tax would be abated or for how long, how many jobs the project would bring, how much power the plant would generate, how much water the site would use, or what computing hardware it would hold. Gateway to Mars said it had not seen a SpaceX statement on the notice.

How it fits with earlier filings

Gateway to Mars reports that the acreage and location match the 444.46 acres Starbase annexed on a SpaceX petition on September 21, 2026, that state records list a SpaceX "Boca Chica Facility" there under electric power generation, and that a Starbase permit log shows a SpaceX application described as a 444-acre data center. Separately, The 956 Report said a pending state air filing lists 35 gas turbines at first, about 748 megawatts. None of those earlier records gave a cost. This notice is the first to do so.

What happens next

The Starbase City Commission meets at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, December 9, 2026, at 48491 State Highway 4 to consider the agreements, and the notice invites the public to attend and be heard. That is the same day Cochise County, Arizona, holds a hearing on SpaceX's proposed data center campus there.

This is a reported story. Details come from the City of Starbase notice as quoted by local outlets, not from an official SpaceX or xAI announcement.