It's unclear if Elon Musk ever figured out how to wear a cowboy hat, but 2024 is the year the billionaire went all in on Texas. While Tesla laid off almost 2,700 Texas staffers in the spring as part of a global workforce shedding, the automaker still hired and expanded more in the state this year.

Employees of SpaceX have filed a formal petition to create the city of Starbase. Its first mayor would be a security manager for the company.

Elon Musk plans to establish a township, Starbase, for SpaceX employees in South Texas, near the company’s rocket launch site. A petition has been filed demanding a separate municipality Starbase. The proposal includes a small community of about 500 residents,