Elon Musk Threatens Lawsuit After California Commission Rejects SpaceX Launches Due to His Support of Trump

15 Oct 2024, 16:40 by Lucas Nolan · Breitbart

Elon Musk has vowed to take legal action against the California Coastal Commission after the agency cited his political statements and support for Donald Trump when denying a request for SpaceX launches from the state’s central coast.

Business Insider reports that in a controversial decision on Thursday, the California Coastal Commission voted 6-4 against a request from the U.S. Space Force to allow SpaceX to increase the number of launches of its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base from 36 to 50 per year. The decision has sparked outrage from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has threatened to file a lawsuit against the commission for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights.

During the meeting, commissioner Gretchen Newsom expressed concerns over Musk’s political posts on social media and the working conditions at SpaceX. “Elon Musk is 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,” she said. “It appears that rather than prioritizing the welfare of SpaceX employees and the environment, the focus has been on profit maximization.”

Commission Chair Caryl Hart acknowledged that while the commission was dealing with a political matter to some extent, as it involved the U.S. government and the Coastal Commission, Musk had “aggressively injected himself into the presidential race.”

Musk responded to the decision on X (formerly Twitter), calling the commissioners’ comments “incredibly inappropriate” and asserting that his posts on the platform had nothing to do with the Coastal Commission or SpaceX launches. He announced his intention to file a lawsuit against the commission on Monday for violating the First Amendment, later clarifying that he would file on Tuesday since courts are closed on Monday.

The commission also disagreed with SpaceX and the military’s characterization of the launches as federal agency activities, which would exempt the company from obtaining a permit to carry out launches. Commissioners argued that SpaceX was primarily a private company and should therefore have to obtain a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) itself.

Despite the disagreement, some commissioners commended the military’s recent efforts in working with staff on environmental issues. The commission also noted serious concerns about potential impacts on the local environment caused by the rockets’ sonic booms.

Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, an assistant secretary of the Air Force, assured the hearing that the Space Force remained committed to protecting the coastline and local coastal species.