Home
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
/
SpaceX sues California regulator, claiming its launches were blocked
because of Elon Musk’s politics
By Clare Duffy, CNN
Updated:
5:27 PM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has accused a California regulator of political
discrimination after it voted to block the rocket company from
conducting more launches on the state’s central coast.
SpaceX claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that members of the
California Coastal Commission violated Musk’s right to free speech
and overstepped the agency’s authority after members cited the
billionaire’s conspiratorial comments on his social media platform X
in denying the bid. The commission oversees development and
environmental protection of the state’s coastline.
It’s not clear whether the commission was ever in a position to block
the project, and the increased number of Falcon 9 rocket launches was
previously recommended by the US Air Force. But the incident marks one
of the most tangible examples yet of Musk’s controversial presence on
X potentially impacting his other companies, after having contributed
to the of his social media platform.
The US Space Force, which partners with SpaceX to , proposed in
September that SpaceX could increase its number of annual rocket
launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a military base on the coast
near Santa Barbara, California, from 36 to 50. SpaceX also conducts
commercial launches from the base to deliver its Starlink satellites
into orbit.
But the California Coastal Commission opposed the plan. At an October
10 , members voted 6 to 4 against increasing the launches.
At the meeting, commissioners “raised other concerns wholly unrelated
to coastal effects,” SpaceX alleged in the complaint, filed in
California Central District Court. Members allegedly referenced
SpaceX’s employment practices — which have been the subject of
lawsuits from the and — as well as the use of Musk’s Starlink in .
“Commissioner (Mike) Wilson wanted to ‘acknowledge’ that the
outcome of the Starlink program will be Mr. Musk having control over
‘one of the most extensive communications networks on the planet,’
and further stated that ‘just last week’ Mr. Musk was ‘speaking
about political retribution on a national stage,’” the complaint
states.
SpaceX accused the commission of showing what it described as “overt,
and shocking, political bias.” It cites statements by commissioners
during the meeting, including one from commissioner Gretchen Newsom,
who noted Musk’s “hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting
political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to
help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the
internet.” (Newsom is unrelated to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.)
Musk, who has endorsed former President Donald Trump for reelection,
and false claims denigrating the federal government’s response to
Hurricane Helene, adding to a flood of misinformation about the storm
online, and portrayed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala
Harris as incompetent.
Musk has also previously promoted racist conspiracy theories about and
. And in a following the first assassination attempt on former
President Donald Trump, he seemed to question why “no one is even
trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
The lawsuit also alleges that launches on the base are federally
regulated activities, not subject to the approval of state regulators
like the coastal commission, and seeks a ruling from the judge
confirming that claim. SpaceX is also seeking monetary damages.
Joshua Smith, public information officer for the California Coastal
Commission, told CNN the agency declined to comment on the lawsuit.
DIR <- back to index