The next thing SpaceX is trying to launch is its own municipality: Residents of the tiny coastal stretch the company uses for rocket sendoffs are voting today on whether to establish a city called Starbase, Texas.

The incorporation of Starbase as a SpaceX company town is essentially a foregone conclusion, as the measure is expected to pass given the local demographics: Of the 283 eligible voters (people living within the bounds of the proposed city), most are employed by SpaceX or affiliated with it.

A yes vote would be a win for SpaceX boss and part-time Starbase resident Elon Musk, who began promoting the idea a couple of years after he chose the southernmost tip of Texas as the touch-off point for SpaceX’s next-gen rocket, Starship, in 2018.

Why does Musk want a city?

Turning the 1.45-square-mile area in South Texas—which doesn’t currently have much besides SpaceX launchpads, rocket assembly facilities, and employee housing—into a city would give Musk’s company more direct say in local decision-making:

• The candidates running unopposed for mayor and two commissioner posts are SpaceX employees.
• As town leaders, they could raise revenue through taxes and acquire land through eminent domain, while loosening zoning rules to spur further employee housing construction.

More crucially to SpaceX’s operations, the town would be able to close the local public beach for weekday launches, which currently requires permission from county officials.

The locals aren’t all stoked

Many residents of the nearby city of Brownsville are worried that SpaceX wants to cut them off from a major destination for waves and sunshine. There’s also general dissatisfaction with rising home prices amid an influx of SpaceX workers moving into the area.

But county officials have largely been supportive of SpaceX’s plans due to its local economic impact. The company says it has created over 3,400 jobs in the region.

Starbase wouldn’t be a first. While a population center so directly controlled by a company is unusual in 21st-century America, there’s plenty of historical precedent. For instance, Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 as a US Steel company town.—SK

The labor market stayed strong. The US added 177,000 jobs in April, while unemployment stayed steady at 4.2%, new Labor Department data shows. That was slightly less job growth than the month before, but still more than expected, and it shows a resilient labor environment even as the president’s introduction of tariffs roiled the stock and bond markets and raised concerns about a recession. President Trump celebrated the news in a Truth Social post that once again urged the Fed to cut interest rates.

Trump wants to cut $163 billion in government spending. President Trump proposed a budget yesterday that would make big cuts to federal spending next year on healthcare, education, housing, environmental, and foreign aid programs, while boosting defense spending by 13% and border security funding by 65%. The proposal is what’s known as a “skinny budget,” which is a summary presidents often release in their first term, and—like most presidential budgets—it is likely more of a wish list than actual future policy that would be able to make it through Congress.

It’s “Woodstock for Capitalists” today. Investors from all over the world will descend on Omaha, Nebraska, to hear Warren Buffett speak at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting today—the 60th one he’ll be presiding over. They’re hoping to hear what the 94-year-old oracle has to say about President Trump’s tariffs, which he hasn’t yet opined on publicly. Investors are also craving information about what he plans to do with the $334 billion pile of cash his firm amassed last year. And they’re likely to get some answers and some witticisms during CNBC’s version of the Super Bowl, since Buffett will take questions for four-and-a-half hours.—AR

Bad news for everyone who’s been waiting to go Florida-man mode in a new virtual playground: Rockstar Games is “very sorry,” but Grand Theft Auto VI, the next installment in one of the world’s most popular video game franchises, is now set to come out in May 2026 instead of this fall, the publisher announced yesterday.

This is the longest that GTA fans have ever waited. If it stays on track now, GTA VI will come out almost 13 years after GTA V, the world’s No. 2 best-selling game ever. That would put it about a year shy of the Guinness World Record for longest video game development period. Major gaming releases often get delayed, but there couldn’t be more pressure on this one:

• Analysts expected GTA VI to be the year’s highest-grossing launch in entertainment, with some projecting $3 billion in first-year sales for Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two still expects to rake it in this fiscal year and next, the company said yesterday.
• The broader industry was counting on a Barbenheimer-type holiday season for hardware. Newzoo estimated that the launches of GTA VI and the Nintendo Switch 2 would have collectively boosted worldwide console sales by 10% this year.

On the flipside, the delay leaves more room for upcoming releases from Electronic Arts, Sony, Nintendo, and other developers and publishers, which likely all would have been trampled over by GTA VI.—ML

The safest bet in an uncertain economy? A creepy doll. It doesn’t even have to be possessed. Labubu dolls, Nordic fairytale-inspired plushies that grin mischievously, are the hottest fashion accessory and collectible right now.

What is a Labubu? The dolls were created in 2015 by Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung, who started manufacturing them exclusively with Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart in 2019. The toy’s popularity skyrocketed last year when K-pop star Lisa from Blackpink was seen carrying them:

• Celebrities like Rihanna and Dua Lipa have been spotted with Labubus. The dolls were even seen clipped to luxury bags at Paris Fashion Week this year.
• One big draw for collectors is that Labubus are sold in “blind boxes” so fans don’t know which creature they’ve gotten until they pop it open.

Despite a tariff-induced price increase from $22 to $28 for US customers, the newest Labubu collection managed to sell out online in minutes last month.

There’s big money in little dolls: Pop Mart reported $1.8 billion in revenue last year, an over 100% increase in revenue from 2023. About $400 million of that came directly from sales of Labubu dolls and their Monster tribe family. Labubus are also popular among resellers, and they have even inspired a secondary market of designer outfits and bags for the dolls.—MM

The last time the S&P 500 had this hot of a streak, Juicy Couture tracksuits were the height of fashion and MySpace was still the go-to for social media. As of yesterday’s closing bell, the broad index clinched its ninth consecutive day of gains, scoring its longest winning streak since November 2004.

But it hasn’t been an easy time for investors: That sea of green hides a lot of volatility churning furiously just below the surface like a duck’s feet as big market swings become the norm. Early last month, the index was on the brink of tipping into bear market territory as it reeled from President Trump’s announcement of steep blanket tariffs on almost all US trading partners. But since then, with most tariffs on pause, it has risen 14% and clawed back those losses.—AR