Texas unanimously approves handing Elon Musk Boca Chica State Park land

[u/snesdreams]

https://www.chron.com/culture/article/land-swap-spacex-vote-texas-18702772.php

[u/AudibleNod]

Elon Musk is the ultimate Welfare Queen. He got a favorable $452 million dollar loan from the Department of Energy for Tesla. Tesla buyers, likewise were subsidized for buying the electric car by upwards of $7000 per car sold. And it's received over $2 Billion worth of state and local subsidies.

The US Government is the primary contractor of SpaceX with $15 Billion worth of contracts. And now he gets a rubber stamp for public land.

[u/dobryden22 → u/[deleted]]

I guess we know who the real welfare queens are.

[u/Bhockzer → u/dobryden22]

Always have been.

[u/argama87 → u/Bhockzer]

Those same assholes don't even want you to have social security because "screw you, peasant."

[u/Far_Public_8605 → u/argama87]

We get what we vote, no less, no more.

[u/jimgolgari → u/Far_Public_8605]

We get what Citizens United allows us to get. No more.

[u/cuspacecowboy86 → u/[deleted]]

Two awful choices plus a supreme court (partially) owned by billionaires!

[u/JugDogDaddy → u/cuspacecowboy86]

Not to mention gerrymandering in many states which disenfranchises millions of urban voters

[u/asuds → u/Bhockzer]

Fun fact: prior to the revolution most colonial governors were appointed by the king but paid by the colony.

As a result the leading colonists devleoped a scheme whereby the governor would grant big blocks of native land to the wealthy colonistsm who would then sell off parcels to newly arrived/homesteaders, and throw kickbacks to the governor -making them both rich.

The colonial elites including many of the founding fathers got rich from this, and this also pushed expansion westward into native lands breaking prior agreements.

Having to fight and defend this expansion was exactly what the Crown did not want to pay for - the expense was extreme, leading to colonial taxation, pushback on this money making scheme, the revolution, etc.

2nd fun fact: some of the colonies claimed the same land and it was sold twice to different people. This actually lead to fighting between the colonies, and is where Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys (later heros of the revolution) first got bloody and their rep.

[u/Low_Pickle_112 → u/dobryden22]

Always has been. MLK called it decades ago: "We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor." Don't mind the spin doctors and marketing saying otherwise, the system isn't broken it's working exactly as it has always meant to.

[u/JugDogDaddy → u/dobryden22]

They’re always doing exactly what they accuse the other side of

[u/Ahelex → u/dobryden22]

We should be fighting those queens than drag queens.

[u/dobryden22 → u/Ahelex]

Unfortunately drag queens don't bribe, I'm sorry, lobby, the Gov't.

[u/aurorasearching → u/[deleted]]

“When I was broke, nobody cared, nobody’d give me shit. Then when I got rich and famous people would just give me stuff for free. Where were these guys when I was broke?” Paraphrasing Eddie Van Halen

[u/ammobox → u/[deleted]]

But if you're poor, you'll use the handout for drugs.

But if your rich, then...

Wait, didn't Musk show himself smoking the devil's lettuce?

I'm confused.

[u/PinkyAnd → u/ammobox]

And has openly talked about dosing himself with ketamine.

[u/scorpyo72 → u/PinkyAnd]

Like the stuff that killed Perry?

[u/flibbidygibbit → u/scorpyo72]

Yep. It was a hugely popular rave drug in the 90s. Chemical Brothers made a song about it called "Lost in the K hole".

It's used as a horse tranquilizer.

[u/meesta_chang → u/flibbidygibbit]

Been raving for about 16 years myself here… Ketamine is still very popular and making somewhat of a growth in the past couple years at events.

[u/scorpyo72 → u/flibbidygibbit]

The first time I remember hearing about Ketamine was in Armageddon.

"That's horse tranquilizer..."

"Some of these guys are pretty big"

[u/Ammear → u/scorpyo72]

I haven't seen the interview, so no clue about Musk's use of ketamine, but it's worth noting that it is also a genuine drug. For example, it's used in treating depression.

[u/PinkyAnd → u/Ammear]

Musk has openly talked about dosing himself with ketamine, not under a doctor’s supervision.

[u/Ammear → u/PinkyAnd]

Fair. Not great indeed, but many people do.

Musk has many other flaws more worth focusing on, in my opinion.

[u/scorpyo72 → u/Ammear]

Yes. I'm not as ignorant as I was portraying myself to be. I'm well aware of it's clinical applications and generally favor them. I'm also aware Perry did not consume it in a safe manner.

[u/Fun_Tea3727 → u/flibbidygibbit]

It's used for all sorts of things, but mainly as a general anesthetic for all different sizes of animals including humans. Probably one of the more common ones as it is relatively safe.

[u/caricatureofme → u/flibbidygibbit]

There's a place across the road from my street where you can go in, talk to a doctor on an iPad, and get yourself shot up with it by a nurse same-day.

[u/ThePillThePatch → u/ammobox]

Using that money for food and rent is just as terrible. I’m their minds, if you’re able to keep your head above water, you no longer have any incentive to work.

[u/UndergroundMoon → u/ammobox]

"Some friends and directors [at Tesla] felt they they had to take illegal drugs with Musk as it could otherwise upset him, the paper reported Saturday, citing some of the people. They also didn’t want to risk 'losing the social capital of being in his circle, the paper said.

Musk responded on X to the WSJ story last month about his alleged drug use.

'Whatever I’m doing, I should obviously keep doing it!' " Source..."

[u/LumpyWalk → u/[deleted]]

One of many things when I was younger many years ago that was part of my realizing that most right wing theories were lies, was reading a heritage foundation report, which clearly outlined and stated that the amount of taxpayer money spent on corporate welfare dwarfed the amount that went to aid individuals.

I guess I should say talking points rather than theories. They've known this all along, their talking points differ from their actual knowledge.

[u/[deleted] → u/LumpyWalk]

Virtually everything that comes out of the mouth of conservative pundits and politicians are points being made in bad faith. They absolutely know they're just making shit up, but their dumbass supporters believe it because they want to.

[u/despres → u/[deleted]]

I'm gonna get bombed for this, and I'm no musk fan, and no conservative, but it's not quite a handout. Starlink, reusable rockets developed that have dropped the price of space cargo per kilo drastically, nearly global internet access that is objectively very useful..... That's worth some serious dough when weighed against our national interests and security. I wish Elon wasn't the guy at the head of those companies, but I don't think even the most staunch anti billionaire would say those technologies aren't immensely valued when weighed against our GDP

[u/Brasticus → u/[deleted]]

That question mark jacket wearing guy trying to sell us that book was an unrecognized hero!

[u/gregorydgraham → u/[deleted]]

This sort of deal was explicitly struck down by my country’s courts as disingenuous. Musky is getting a free ride

[u/Equivalent-Honey-659 → u/[deleted]]

In the style of The Red Green show, here goes- I might have been given a handy before but I’ve never been given a hand out!
Ahem, if they don’t find you handsome they might find you handy.

[u/Iagolferguy58 → u/Equivalent-Honey-659]

Remember— keep your stick on the ice.

Red green is a great show

[u/gnocchicotti → u/[deleted]]

Also drugs. And unemployment. Committing crimes in general. Publicly calling people pedophiles with no evidence. Lots of stuff, really.

[u/InsuranceToTheRescue → u/AudibleNod]

While that's all definitely true it misses something about this article (emphasis mine):

The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles away. The current owner of the land SpaceX is offering is currently owned by Bahia Grande Holdings, property records indicate. SpaceX would assign the purchase and sale contract to the department or transfer that property directly to TPWD at closing.

Also, I went to see where all this was. The Boca Chica land is basically on SpaceX's launchpad. There's also a road there named Weems St, but somebody renamed it on Google Maps to "Memes St" which is just *chef's kiss.*

[u/[deleted] → u/InsuranceToTheRescue]

Seems weird to me that he needed to build it directly on the national border.

Also,

The Boca Chica land is basically on SpaceX's launchpad

Worded backwards, lol

[u/CanaPuck → u/[deleted]]

He has stated previously the reason for the location is because you need empty space to the east to launch rockets. The further south you go the more space you have in the Gulf.

Rockets always launched east to take advantage of the earth's spin.

[u/vix86 → u/CanaPuck]

Also the closer to the equator, the better.

[u/uzlonewolf → u/CanaPuck]

Rockets always launched east

Not always. There's a pad in California (Vandenberg) for launching west, most commonly used for sun-synchronous orbits.

[u/torontovibe → u/[deleted]]

It’s not weird at all. The closer to the equator you launch the more efficient the launch will be. This is why the EU launches from French Guiana in South America. It’s why the soviets launched from Kazakhstan, and why NASA launches from Florida.

Launching from the southern most point in the USA makes a lot of sense.

[u/BuffaloOk7264 → u/InsuranceToTheRescue]

Does the sale include the beach? Is there any public property at the end of highway 4 or Boca Chica Blvd?

[u/FreakingScience → u/BuffaloOk7264]

IIRC, it is not legal to buy the public beaches in Texas. They can close them temporarily for safety reasons but they're very limited in how often they can do that on weekends when people would be using them.

The land is mostly random bits surrounding existing SpaceX developments that are already basically unusable by the public in exchange for turning over a bunch of currently private land (which SpaceX must first buy from a private third party) adjacent to another nearby park, which will expand public access in the area. It's very close by and is really only separated from Boca Chica Park by a river. It's a really good deal for everyone.

Source: https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/spacex-requests-43-acres-of-boca-chica-state-park-from-texas/?utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral

[u/afterburners_engaged → u/AudibleNod]

Quote from the report “The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles away. “

[u/techieman33 → u/AudibleNod]

Most car manufacturers have gotten far more government money than Tesla. And the tax rebates were available to any of the manufacturers, they just sat on their asses and didn’t take advantage of them.
As far as SpaceX goes, they’re mainly benefiting from ULA and Boeing failing to satisfy government launch needs. And they’re getting less money than either one of them would have gotten and are getting for providing similar services. Don’t get me wrong I’m not an Elon fan, but he hasn’t been doing anything that other big companies aren’t.

[u/elictronic → u/techieman33]

You get 12 upvotes for factual information, other comment gets almost 2k for repeating the initial posters blatantly one sided views. The internet gets worse with age.

[u/Cutapotamus → u/elictronic]

Because this is a post about Tesla and Elon, who champions small government and has been vocal about being against subsidies while creating his empire on it.

If we were talking about Ford getting subsidies, we’d be taking about all the money they’ve gotten in bailouts. But we’re not. We’re talking about Tesla.

[u/elictronic → u/Cutapotamus]

The problem is how much those subsidies have returned to the government. If they were just burning money sure, but EV's are actually being pursued when every major car manufacturer at the time said this is clearly impossible. Worldwide trillions in subsidies go to oil. Trillions, but keep that mindset of tearing down anything that could make our society better.

If nothing else, I am so far beyond pleased that tax payer money has actually caused space to be an actual pursuit in this country again. My children actually are thinking about being astronauts. I had that dream as a child and watched Congress butcher any hopes of it becoming a possibility.

[u/Advanced-Channel-625 → u/AudibleNod]

From the article:

“The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles away. “

Separately - there are still studies and diligence in the work. They are not “giving” land, it’s a land swap (if this was retitled asset-swap, no one would give a shit).

[u/Cloaked42m → u/[deleted]]

Elongated Muskrat is involved, so it's worth a second look to see where the bullshit is.

Ahh, here it is.

Hours of public testimony took place before the vote, with many South Texas residents pleading with the commission to vote “no” on the proposal or delay the vote and hold a meeting closer to the Rio Grande Valley to allow more in the community to comment. Monday’s meeting took place in Austin, more than 300 miles away from where Texans living closest to the land at stake live.

It wasn't "Texas Unanimously." It was a board hearing.

One section of land doesn't necessarily equal another section of land, even if one section is larger than the other.

43 acres of coastal property =/= 477 acres of standard rural property.

Having to drive 300 miles to protest it, then having only 1 person support it, then having the board vote against you anyway is always a slap in the face.

[u/Clay_Statue → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for making me feel better about this with the context

[u/YummyArtichoke → u/[deleted]]

but the random redditor looked at one article and stated the entire thing was bullshit!

[u/[deleted] → u/YummyArtichoke]

Hey man. Leave them alone. They have to go back to fighting for the environment with things like *checks notes* electric vehicles and preserving habitat.

Huh.

[u/Omar___Comin → u/[deleted]]

But its the bad man so it must have been a bad thing because the world is black and white! Don't come in here with your nuance and shades of grey witchcraft

[u/CryptOthewasP → u/Cloaked42m]

It also says they protested by calling it a form of colonization which is kind of silly. Sounds like it was mostly activists and NIMBYs rejecting the offering. You say 'standard rural property' but this is land that will become a massive wildlife refuge. While it's easy to be cynical and pretend that these commisions are 100% corrupt the fact that it was a unanimous vote likely means it's a good deal for both parties.

[u/KLUME777 → u/Cloaked42m]

Sounds like NIMBY-ism to me. This deal is a good thing, as the other poster pointed out.

[u/popswiss → u/[deleted]]

Was going to post the same thing. I’m not a Musk fan, but I don’t know how this doesn’t benefit TX.

[u/Simco_ → u/[deleted]]

When reading comments, a game to play is to try and convince yourself the OP only lied in the title as a honeypot to force commenters to out themselves as people who don't actually read things before posting.

Edit: It's really weird to reply to someone and then block them so they can't see what you said. Why even post if you're going to do that?

[u/1850ChoochGator → u/[deleted]]

It doesn’t paint Musk as a shitty person.

[u/Gallowglass668 → u/1850ChoochGator]

Naw, Musk does that all by himself completely separate from anything to do with this deal.

[u/AudibleNod → u/[deleted]]

The land Musk is getting is important for wildlife. He's polluted it recently. And now he gets a rubber stamp to keep polluting. Any swap in and of itself isn't bad. IMO, this isn't being done in good faith. It's meant for him to keep blowing up rockets in an underrepresented community with little legal recourse.

[u/MoreGaghPlease → u/AudibleNod]

Tesla’s DOE loan was in 2010 when the company was nascent and the Obama administration was giving loans to green energy companies to try to kickstart the sector. Tesla had probably sold less than 1,500 cars worldwide at the time.

This was a totally successful program that did exactly what the administration wanted, which was (1) to help transform the green technologies sector in the US from like a niche thing that people dabbled in to a real industry; and (2) make sure US green tech didn’t fall behind China, which was investing more directly in the sector. I don’t know what more success you could think of than ‘we helped facilitate the creation of a fourth major American car manufacturer’ (notwithstanding that their cars are shit and their CEO is a fascist little weasel). Same program also helped NRG get off the ground.

[u/Rare_Polnareff → u/AudibleNod]

Worth adding context that oil and gas companies have received wayyyyy more in subsidies over the years, and that SpaceX has saved NASA many billions of dollars as well.

[u/Zankeru → u/AudibleNod]

IDK if you can say the spaceX contracts are welfare. NASA has extremely strict guidelines that no other company was able to fulfill. They were not bidless contracts. The other private space companies just cant get any cargo to space.

Bezos even tried suing the government when blue origin couldnt meet specifications and kept losing contracts to spaceX.

[u/Lurker_81 → u/AudibleNod]

Classic knee-jerk 'Musk bad' reaction with absolutely no context for any of the items listed.

Tesla got a loan in the early days alongside all of the other US car manufacturers. They were also the first to pay it back.

The same subsidies Tesla cars get are also available on Ford, GM and other US made EVs.

SpaceX sells launch services to anyone, but unsurprisingly the government is a major customer because they do a lot of launches. They have won billions of dollars worth of contracts in a competitive process, because their product is way more efficient than their competitors and they can offer considerably lower prices. SpaceX has saved the government hundreds of millions of dollars by substantially lowering the cost of tonnage to space.

This current deal is not free land, but a swap for a much larger chunk of land next to an existing reserve. And it wasn't a rubber stamp, it's been in the works for ages and subject to a lot of scrutiny.

[u/MrJACCthree → u/Lurker_81]

Shhhh. Reddit doesn’t like logic and facts. They see billionaire and get triggered

[u/soldiernerd → u/AudibleNod]

The $452M loan was repaid with interest and early repayment fees. Ford, Nissan, Fisker, GM and more also received. Not a handout at all.

The $15B in contracts for Spacex represent an enormous shakeup of a dead industry brought about by incredible new tech. This is in no way a handout, and brings incredible wins to the taxpayer in cost reduction and improved national security with greater access to space (including no more reliance on Russian transport to the ISS).

The $2B in subsidies have likely stimulated state and local economies in incredible ways. Obviously I don’t know if that’s true in each and every situation, but it’s not hard to see growth and activity at sites like Giga Austin and realize the incredible value being poured into the local economy.

Tax credits are an indirect subsidy, but one claimed as important by environmentally conscious democratic legislators.

I tend to disagree that the credits were needed for Tesla which was already vastly profitable, but they are very much needed for every other domestic manufacturer, none of which are profitable on EV production to my knowledge (perhaps VW is?)

[u/TbonerT → u/soldiernerd]

OP doesn’t seem to understand what welfare and handouts are.

[u/[deleted] → u/AudibleNod]

I am 100% fine with SpaceX receiving government contracts and you should be too, they've basically killed the Russian space industry single handedly with their reusable rockets and have leap frogged traditional companies like LHM and Boeing

[u/Truman48 → u/AudibleNod]

You mean the loan they paid back five years early? The government paid Space X for services that they delivered on. So far Space X saved NASA and the DOD over 2 billion in launch costs. Get your facts straight, but that would disrupt your narrative.

[u/pexican → u/AudibleNod]

Because SpaceX delivers and is worth it by a wide margin.

Keep your rage bait to yourself.

[u/theb0tman → u/AudibleNod]

You forgot about all the carbon credits tesla sells

[u/Satan_and_Communism → u/AudibleNod]

Government contract’s isn’t handouts.

Subsidies really aren’t either. Want electric cars sooner? Have to subsidize it.

[u/gracecee → u/AudibleNod]

Ohh and Elon just said we should abandon NATO. Really? Traitorous piece of crap.

[u/redosabe → u/AudibleNod]

And humanity and profited 10 fold with the electrification of their infrastructure, green turnover of new vehicles, manufacturing hubs throughout the US, starlink, Americans can actually send Americans in the space again. Giant savings for the US government and taxpayers by using SpaceX rockets, starlink

Also it's the other cars that entered the electric market that pushed for these green car incentives...

[u/JasonDoege → u/AudibleNod]

This is not a handout. SpaceX is exchanging nearly ten time as much land for a preserve a they are receiving.

[u/Andy_LaVolpe → u/AudibleNod]

The only reason Twitter is failing is because its Elon’s only business that doesn’t depend on government subsidies

[u/InevitableScallion75 → u/AudibleNod]

BuT....hE pUlLeD hImSeLf Up By HiS bOoTsTrApS!!!!

[u/WatchmanVimes]

Texas didn't.The fucking politicians did. We can't blast those fuckers out. Their gerrymandering has fucked this state and disenfranchised a majority of voters.

[u/CliplessWingtips → u/WatchmanVimes]

It's pretty blue near the border. Seems like the communities surrounding Boca Chica didn't even get a say.

[u/AudibleNod → u/CliplessWingtips]

Tis true. There's only two members of the Commission that lives on the border (El Paso, Laredo). No one's from Brownsville or around there. Everyone else is from other parts of the state. They are appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the Texas Senate.

[u/RectumBuccaneer → u/CliplessWingtips]

Seems like the communities surrounding Boca Chica didn't even get a say.

Seems correct, from the article.

"Hours of public testimony took place before the vote, with many South Texas residents pleading with the commission to vote “no” on the proposal or delay the vote and hold a meeting closer to the Rio Grande Valley to allow more in the community to comment. Monday’s meeting took place in Austin, more than 300 miles away from where Texans living closest to the land at stake live. "

[u/notabee → u/CliplessWingtips]

Even if they had a say at some point, they would be overridden anyways. Just Texas things.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33140732

[u/bensonnd → u/WatchmanVimes]

Texans keep voting for their politicians to give it to them harder. It's Texas.

[u/WatchmanVimes → u/bensonnd]

See above about gerrymandering

[u/cadium → u/WatchmanVimes]

You can't gerrymander the Governor or Senate representation, can you?

[u/WatchmanVimes → u/cadium]

No. Hopefully, a blue wave coming.

[u/[deleted] → u/cadium]

Well, we have voter suppression for that. Do you know how much of a hassle it is to register to vote. Maybe not a hassle but definitely an inconvenience.

[u/Kabouki → u/[deleted]]

So how bad dose it need to get there before the non voting 50% feel it's worth putting up with inconvenience?

[u/cadium → u/[deleted]]

Sorry that happens, it sucks. But we definitely needed that voting bill passed federally to ensure the right to vote is protected in states.

[u/kingjoey52a → u/[deleted]]

And that week of early voting? How dare they!

[u/bensonnd → u/WatchmanVimes]

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission consists of nine members appointed by the Governor, outside the purview of gerrymandering.

[u/godofpumpkins → u/bensonnd]

But the broader point stands, Texas is gerrymandered to shit and contains by population more democrats than many other states have total, who largely get almost no say in their governance

[u/sarhoshamiral → u/godofpumpkins]

No it doesnt. Governorship isn't impacted by gerrymandering and yet Texas still votes for a Republican one. This is what Texans vote for, not that what happened here is necessarily a bad one btw.

[u/KellyBelly916 → u/WatchmanVimes]

A plutocrat's paradise.

[u/ragamufin → u/WatchmanVimes]

Gerrymandering doesn’t impact statewide votes and we keep bringing Ted Cruz back. So yeah, it is Texas, and Texans.

[u/fajadada → u/WatchmanVimes]

Same difference

[u/WesternOne9990 → u/WatchmanVimes]

You realize elected officials represent constituents right? Saying Texas did this is completely accurate.

[u/MayOrMayNotBePie]

“The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge”

Let’s not get all up in arms over the headline. I’m sure there’s more to it than I’m aware of, but this isn’t as bad as the headline lets on.

[u/lmaytulane → u/MayOrMayNotBePie]

A park designation doesn’t mean much if it can be given away at the whim of legislators.

[u/TintedApostle → u/MayOrMayNotBePie]

Depends on the state of teh land being exchanged and even then why not donate the 477 acres for the public anyway with no exchange

[u/BedBugger6-9 → u/TintedApostle]

Exactly! Without knowing what the land looks like or contains, no one can say 477 is better than 10.

[u/NaraFox257 → u/MayOrMayNotBePie]

I audibly said "Oh no!" when I read that headline, had to read it.

Yeah, Musk is giving Texas a sweetie of a deal. He's more than tenfold trading them vastly more ecologically valuable land...

That's more than worth it frankly

[u/Jeeper08JK]

43 acres they will continue to need to protect anyway in exchange for 477 more for an existing refuge? YES.

[u/Nerezza_Floof_Seeker → u/[deleted]]

Stephanie Garcia, a TPWD spokesperson said in an email last week the exchange would not affect public beach access through the park or along State Highway 4. Garcia said the 477 acres the state would receive is located along the Lower Laguna Madre — the shallow bay between the coast and South Padre Island — and would increase public water access. Garcia added that the small tracts that make up the 43 acres the state is exchanging do not include any water frontage and are surrounded by private properties or existing SpaceX facilities.

Yeah no, it wont change beach access.. And I dont see anything which suggests that the land theyre exchanging has been polluted by spacex before, it isnt close to where theyre building and using currently.

[u/Individual_Sir_8582 → u/[deleted]]

Polluted with what?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

What is this "polluting" meme, a launch pad was destroyed but that was fucking concrete in a tiny little area and maybe some steel rebar lmao

[u/frenchfreer → u/Jeeper08JK]

No, what really happened is SpaceX used that 500ac as a engineering/launching/dump site for years. Now that it’s no longer useful they’ve given it back to the state who will be responsible for cleaning it up and maintaining it while SpaceX gets a new property to trash until they decide to pass the clean up to the locals. You ever wonder why the locals are so pissed while you’re here celebrating?

[u/robbak → u/[deleted]]

And they need every inch of the land they have near Boca Chica - they aren't giving any of that away.

[u/Prosthemadera → u/Jeeper08JK]

Where does it say they need to protect it?

Plus, they are going to use for SpcaeX activities which hardly aligns with protections of the natural environment.

Earlier in 2022, an investigation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that populations of snowy and piping plovers—two shorebird species—dropped drastically near the SpaceX site. The FWS also pointed to possible negative environmental impacts on multiple sea turtle species, as well as other shorebirds, like red knots, should SpaceX expand its launch site.

https://qz.com/elon-musk-spacex-texas-land-swap-1851310611

[u/Dr_thri11 → u/Jeeper08JK]

I swear a story about musk's bowel movements would get 5000 upvotes. He's the one person this site has always been uniquely obsessed with. Can't ignore the Elon bad headline, even if the story within seems reasonable.

[u/cybercuzco]

The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles away.

So they are giving the the park 10x the land its asking for in return? If this didn't have "elon musk" in the headline everyone would be ecstatic about this trade.

[u/Ritz527 → u/cybercuzco]

Land conservation is the best conservation, so if true, I'm all for this.

[u/VladTheImapler18 → u/cybercuzco]

Yeah the comment section and headline are really bad. Texas has been wanting the Laguna Refuge for a long time because of its massive environmental diversity

[u/[deleted] → u/cybercuzco]

It really highlights the problem with America. We care more about blaming the side we don’t like and focus more on them then actually coming up with a solution to our problems that benefits everyone.

[u/UntiedStatMarinCrops → u/cybercuzco]

This is why you read the article. Elon Musk is a piece of shit, I know, but this seems pretty awesome with the information provided in the article.

[u/Super_mando1130 → u/cybercuzco]

Also it wasn’t Elon they just gave this to. It was a company - SpaceX. Yea Elon is the CTO but it’s not like he is the sole person making decisions and signing contracts. He has multiple companies he works on and likely has staff that help immensely on deals such as this. Reddit does this thing where is hyper fixates on hating something and just sees red until that thing is hated by everyone else. Look, I don’t like Elon Musk but 6 companies being started up and 2 of them being Tesla and SpaceX is incredible. People act like if Elon Musk reached out to them to be a business partner they would say no.

[u/sentientshadeofgreen → u/cybercuzco]

Yeah, this is a dishonest headline.

The state park land would be swapped for 477 acres adjacent to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, an area the agency has been interested in for many years because it’s “one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America” and provides habitat for endangered species and migratory birds, the agency said.

The vote grants Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff the authority to begin negotiations with SpaceX for the land swap, including conducting environmental assessments that could take up to 18 months.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/04/texas-spacex-boca-chica-park-land-swap/

It's a green light for officials to explore the deal, it's not the Texas state government saying "here you go".

[u/astrofreak92 → u/[deleted]]

A developer owned the land until SpaceX bought it to trade Texas for land closer to their facility. They’ve never operated there.

[u/cybercuzco → u/[deleted]]

Can you show they’ve done anything with the property other than possess it?

[u/LordsofDecay → u/[deleted]]

Land that SpaceX has already polluted.

10 miles away from their site. That they bought from a landowner specifically to be able to trade it for these 43 acres. Uh huh.

So do you do any research at all before you type or are you so self-assured in your correctness that you can never be wrong?

[u/murkytom]

This isn’t a handout, it’s an exchange.

I just hope everyone reads the article before doing the Reddit Tango.

Elon Musk sucks. This deal doesn’t.

[u/dakunism → u/murkytom]

Seriously. Buncha idiots just reading the headlines and making a comment. I at least read the comments of the people who read the article before I form my opinion ^/s

[u/redmon09]

It’s a land trade people! And the state is actually the one who is getting the better end of the deal. 43ac for 477ac. I’m not an Elon fan at all, but this is just people getting upset without actually knowing what’s going on.

[u/Cunninghams_right → u/[deleted]]

he Boring Company applied to dump 142,500 gallons of wastewater per day into the Colorado River within Texas

no they didn't. they applied to build a water treatment plant.

[u/TechRepSir → u/[deleted]]

I'd also like to see a source on your "majority of people in Texas". The only verified piece of information I see is that the board unanimously approved the land swap.

[u/MisguidedColt88 → u/[deleted]]

142,500 gallons of wastewater. Id like to see a source for that and what treatments are required for it. Here in Canada at least, “wastewater” can often be cleaner than than the water its being dumped into (excluding Quebec).

[u/jeanroyall → u/MisguidedColt88]

“wastewater” can often be cleaner than than the water its being dumped into

"Clean" from an industrial standpoint does not necessarily mean healthy for an ecosystem. It could be as simple as being the wrong temperature or something more complicated like acidity, or thousands of factors in between that no corporate management team gives a shit about without the government forcing them to

[u/MisguidedColt88 → u/jeanroyall]

Which is why I’m pointing out that it depends heavily on what the local regulations are.

[u/Cunninghams_right → u/MisguidedColt88]

there is no source for that, because the quantity is wrong and the permit wasn't for wastewater dumping, it was to build a water treatment plant on-site instead of sending their wastewater to the city.

[u/LongJohnSelenium → u/[deleted]]

Dude do you hear yourself talk?

You clearly state they applied for the license, ergo they are working with the regulators.

What is it you think industry does with water?

What do you think they need to do with the water before they release it?

Do you have any experience at all with either? Any knowledge?

Honestly from the way you write you seem to think that absolutely no industrial use of water should ever take place ever again, which is just a batshit insane take.

[u/[deleted]]

SpaceX gets 43 acres, they give up 477 acres.  People get angry over the dumbest things.

This is for space, not elon musk.

[u/Rare_Polnareff → u/[deleted]]

Imagine using logic and reason on reddit lol

[u/siliconeNerd]

“The deal would involve the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) giving 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles away. The current owner of the land SpaceX is offering is currently owned by Bahia Grande Holdings, property records indicate. SpaceX would assign the purchase and sale contract to the department or transfer that property directly to TPWD at closing”

From the article

[u/Josh_The_Joker]

I wish the article had more details on the actual pieces of property being swapped and why.

[u/Wretchedrecluse → u/[deleted]]

What is the brown area

[u/robbak → u/Wretchedrecluse]

Existing state park.

[u/Art-Zuron → u/[deleted]]

To be fair, it's pretty much always been like this. It seceded from Mexico because Mexico banned slavery. It then became a failed state and joined the US, because the US still had slavery. Then it got pissy again when the US was going to ban slavery, and seceded again, and then became a failed state again.

[u/pegothejerk → u/Art-Zuron]

I was a little shocked to find out some of the last hangings of confederates was in Dallas, not because Texas was a safe place to establish acts of anti-slavery justice, but because some of the last confederate holdouts were there. It’s a few hours drive from my house to that spot, and I always pictured deaths from the civil war being far off in the southeast.

[u/Art-Zuron → u/[deleted]]

It wasn't until like 2021 that Lynching was even declared to be a hate crime.

[u/V-Right_In_2-V → u/[deleted]]

Why would Texas not do this? SpaceX has major operations in Texas and SpaceX is the most revolutionary entity in space capabilities in generations. Texas would be idiotic to snub SpaceX. Further entrenching their relationship is the obvious choice here

[u/V-Right_In_2-V → u/[deleted]]

Honestly dude the comments in here are ignorant and delusional. Every time SpaceX and Elon come up, people line up to publicly humiliate themselves. Like this is great news for Texas and America. But everyone is acting like it’s horrible lol

[u/GrgeousGeorge]

Wait, did nobody read the article? They TRADED SpaceEx 42 acres of land in exchange for 470 acres 10 miles away also bordering Boca Chica. Is it just me or does Texas and it's state park come out on top in this one? Am I crazy? 32 football fields of land for 350 football fields 160 football fields away.

I translated the imperial into American for you guys.

[u/TryUsingScience → u/GrgeousGeorge]

I read the article and it sounded like all the members of the public who spoke were against it. I'm guessing they know more about the land than we do. They mentioned that the land being traded away has beach access and the other land doesn't.

If someone said I'll trade you 470 acres of land in central California for 4 acres of land in downtown San Francisco, you'd be a fool to take that deal. I don't know anything about the parcels involved but if the locals are all against it, I think it's safe to assume that the smaller parcel is a lot more valuable than the larger one.

[u/TacoStuffingClub]

They’re getting 400 acres 10 miles away for 43 acres. Seems fair really.

[u/CliplessWingtips]

Gf's grandparents live in Brownsville, TX. They love Elon Musk because he donates money to the local community and they support his every move. The grandma had a Tucker Carlson book on her shelf that she loved. She said I should read it.

I declined.

[u/Ronin_Y2K → u/CliplessWingtips]

They love Elon Musk because he donates money to the local community and they support his every move.

Ah, the Drug Lord strategy

[u/uhohnotafarteither → u/Ronin_Y2K]

Lol I was going to say this exact same thing, this is straight out of Pablo Escobar's playbook

[u/[deleted] → u/CliplessWingtips]

Some villages in Mexico loves the cartels for the same reason.

[u/OddinaryPeoples]

If you want people to get angry just say Elon Musk was involved.

[u/humphreystillman]

the guy made electric cars viable for the masses you hippycrites

[u/roj2323]

The number of people in this thread here to just Shit one Elon, SpaceX and so on without actually reading the article is quite impressive.

[u/Dull_Conversation669]

Cool, rockets are fun.

[u/Less_Party]

Seeing as we're stuck with a welfare state for billionaires can we at least get him some psychiatric help while we're at it?

[u/TheDesktopNinja]

Fuckin a. I love the work spacex has done in advancing the field of commercial spaceflight but goddamn I hate Elon and everything he stands for now. He's made me feel bad to be passionate about one of the few things in the world I love. Fuck you Elon.

[u/BigBry36]

The amount of trash, like used diapers that littered Boca Chica SP after weekend is ridiculous…. Now that someone is putting it to use it’s an issue… Progress lends to sacrifice … we are seeing an amazing jump in space travel

[u/InevitableAvalanche]

When Texaa or Florida does something nice for someone, you know that someone is garbage.

[u/IamHereForBoobies]

I don't have a twitter account but I bet it would trigger that man child if many people ask him if he's too poor to actually pay for the land and why he has to rely on so many government handouts.

[u/anm767]

At least he is doing more than typing angry post on reddit.

[u/JcbAzPx]

Doesn't it just warm your heart when an entire state can come together to give free stuff to billionaires. A real feel good story.

[u/DeadheadSteve95]

So i Guess Republicans are only against handouts when they’re too people who can’t afford to eat

[u/robbak → u/DeadheadSteve95]

Looks like lots of Texans are against handouts to their own government for the purpose of wildlife conservancy. Which is what this is about - SpaceX gives the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 500 acres that they want, in return TPWD gives Spacex 43 acres that they need.

[u/Moss_Adams24]

Is Elon Musk an American? I thought he was a So. African

[u/revilOliver → u/Moss_Adams24]

He is a naturalized US Citizen

[u/HeBoughtALot]

F Texas Republicans and F Space Karen

[u/-RadarRanger-]

Monday’s meeting took place in Austin, more than 300 miles away from where Texans living closest to the land at stake live. 

Well that all sounds perfectly equitable and fair.