Elon Musk founding his City of Starbase, Texas is getting support from at least one local official ... who says the move could lead to a serious job and tourism boom.
Joey Lopez, one of four elected commissioners for Cameron County, tells TMZ ... Elon's SpaceX has already made an impact -- currently known as the unincorporated area of Boca Chica Village -- by attracting tourists who come watch rocket launches.
Hopefully, the rockets will do better than the one Wednesday ... an unmanned test flight of a SpaceX rocket Elon hoped would go to Mars exploded after trying to stick a clean landing at the South Texas landing facility.
Lopez says SpaceX has also created jobs in the area. He says in June of 2020 there were 600 county residents who worked for SpaceX. That number's swelled to as high as 1,800 ... according to Lopez.
And, if Elon starts his own city ... Lopez sees that number skyrocketing. #PunIntended.
What's more ... Lopez says Elon's already ingrained himself in the community ... like recently helping save sea turtles during Texas' recent deadly winter storm. He also provided generators that helped maintain water pressure in two Cameron County towns.
As we reported ... a county judge has already said Elon must comply with all state laws if he wants to own a piece of Texas. Lopez says Elon has a lot of work to do if he wants Boca Chica Village Starbase to become a self-sufficient city.
At the very least ... Elon's got one powerful man on board.