How SpaceX bought 125,000 acres of Louisiana's coast
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One of the key pieces of the puzzle leading to the announcement of SpaceX's $100 billion planned Starbase Louisiana is that the company scored 125,000 acres of the state's coastline for $100,000,000.
Why it matters: The no-bid deal was only made possible by a relatively new state law.
The big picture: During the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers passed a bill later signed by Gov. Jeff Landry allowing Louisiana Economic Development to sell state property.
- That law has been used only twice, according to LED spokesperson Emma Wagner, to lure big economic development projects to the state: Meta and SpaceX.
Zoom in: LED first used it to turn over about 1,440 acres to Meta in 2025 for about $12 million, or about $8,333 an acre, Floodlight reports, funding LED's pursuit of other economic development projects.
- Then, this year, state leaders sold the 125,000-acre Vermilion Parish parcel to SpaceX in the fallout from settling a long-running lawsuit with Exxon. The resulting funds are going to the Coastal Protection And Restoration Authority, officials have said.
What they're saying: The SpaceX land sale might seem like a screaming deal at $800 an acre.
- But "it makes sense," says Elifin Realty CEO Matthew Laborde, who wasn't part of the SpaceX negotiations but does commercial real estate deals across South Louisiana.
- "The land is a small piece of a much bigger deal, [and] when you think of alternative uses and buyers for that much land," there aren't many comparables, Laborde says.
The intrigue: The Landry administration has been under scrutiny for using NDAs and backing legislative packages that were later revealed as economic development lures.
- LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois hit back at critics during the Starbase Louisiana announcement, thanking in particular "legislators who authored critical legislation simply out of trust."
What we're watching: The state also bought 1,700 acres of Ascension Parish land for Hyundai's steel mill with a plan to lease it to the car manufacturer for $1 a year, with an option to sell it in 32 years for $99, WBRZ reports.
- Advocacy organizations are challenging the legality of that deal in court.