What’s in a name? For Boca Chica Beach lovers, it’s pride. Feds deny ‘Cyber Beach’ application

The changing economic identity of the Rio Grande Valley from dozens of communities with agricultural, fishing, and shrimping roots into a region with an increase in manufacturing jobs –—including thousands of workers and supply chain businesses with ties to rocket-building startup SpaceX — has meant a big shift in the environmental landscape. 

The Brownsville community, in particular, has changed significantly as more than 11,000 visitors arrive during SpaceX launches — especially enthusiasts of SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk, and his companies, Tesla and the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now X. 

One of those enthusiasts, who hails from Mississippi and owns a Tesla vehicle, according to social media posts, attempted to legally change the name of Boca Chica Beach, which sits next to the growing SpaceX rocket launchpad, to Cyber Beach. Boca Chica means small mouth in Spanish, referring to the landscape’s shape. 

There’s a group of SpaceX enthusiasts who have visited Boca Chica Beach and informally dubbed it Cyber Beach — printing commemorative lanyards for themselves to show off on social media, including Musk’s X platform. 

But when the application was considered by the federal naming committee on Thursday, after months on the docket, the board rejected it unanimously, 11-0. 

Erroneous claims that SpaceX, Starbase, or Musk himself had asked for such a change flooded social media feeds. 

On Thursday, board members received more than 2,700 emails opposing the renaming. 

This week, there was a swift response from the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and its followers, Brownsville elected officials, Texas and U.S. representatives, and even the leaders of the City of Starbase rejected the name change. There have been years of fighting by the environmental group, in particular, over public access to Boca Chica Beach — all of which have been struck down by the courts, including the Texas Supreme Court. 

Brownsville’s mayor, John Cowen, and several council members formally objected to the name change, citing similar concerns. 

“Long before today’s industrial development Boca Chica Beach was where families gathered to fish, camp and celebrate and experience one of the last truly natural stretches of coastline in South Texas,” Brownsville Commissioner Tino Villarreal Jr. said in his letter to the board. “Our community has embraced extraordinary change. We have welcomed unprecedented investment, supported innovation and recognized the economic development opportunities companies like SpaceX have brought to our region. We have already accepted significant change including the incorporation of the new City of Starbase. Changing the name of Boca Chica Beach would not create jobs, improve public safety or enhance visitor experience. It would simply erase a historic name that has existed for generations and replace it with one tied to a single company and a particular moment in time. Companies evolve. Industries change. History should endure.” 

State Sen. Adam Hinojosa, who represents Cameron County, including Brownsville, urged the federal committee that progress and preservation can coexist. 

“The name Boca Chica Beach has long been part of the history of our region. It is recognized throughout Texas and has been passed down through generations of families who have visited its shores, fished its waters, served our nation along this coast, and made it part of their traditions,” Hinojosa said. “Our communities have welcomed investment, innovation and economic growth, and I appreciate the opportunities those investments have created for South Texas. Those achievements, however, do not require replacing a historic place name that has existed for generations. Progress and preservation can, and should, exist together.”