Elon Musk’s SpaceX has filed a federal lawsuit against a California commission, accusing the panel of political bias in blocking the company from increasing the number of rockets it launches from a U.S. air base in the state.
On Tuesday, SpaceX sued the California Coastal Commission in Los Angeles, aiming to obtain an order that would bar the agency from overseeing the company’s Falcon 9 rocket launch program at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in Santa Barbara.
The lawsuit claimed the commission, which regulates the use of land and water along the state’s more than 1,000 miles of coastline, unfairly asserted regulatory powers over the company’s launches based on its disapproval of Musk’s political views.
Musk, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, called on members of the Democrat-led panel to resign on Tuesday and “face the appropriate legal consequences” for what he called “shamelessly breaking the law.”
This comes after the commission rejected a request by the U.S. Space Force to permit SpaceX to increase the number of launches at VSFB in northern Santa Barbara County. The panel denied the proposal in a 6–4 vote last week.
Musk said on Monday that he would launch a lawsuit following the move.
Commissioner Gretchen Newsom, who is not related to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, had expressed concerns over Musk’s and SpaceX’s operations at the commission meeting in San Diego on Oct. 10. Newsom alleged that recent findings reveal a pattern of disregard for employee welfare and workplace violations related to SpaceX employees.
Newsom also stated that Musk has “enjoyed substantial subsidies” from California while threatening to move his headquarters to Texas over what she called “bigoted beliefs against California’s safeguards and protections of our transgender community.”
The commissioner also accused Musk of spreading disinformation about federal relief for recent hurricane victims.
“Right now, 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 stated during the meeting.
In response, Musk said that what he says on his social media platform X has nothing to do with the commission.
“The Coastal Commission has one job—take care of the California coast,” Musk posted. “It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics. For example, I have done more to advance sustainable energy and help the environment than maybe anyone ever, which is not exactly a ‘far-right’ position.”
VSFB is the second-busiest launch facility in the world, according to an Aug. 5, 2024, letter to the commission from a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Successful partnerships such as the one with SpaceX have allowed the U.S. government to carry out missions in a cost-effective manner, lawmakers wrote.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) on Monday said that the commission had unfairly nixed bipartisan support for more frequent SpaceX launches at the military base for political reasons.
“Here is the bipartisan letter we wrote in favor of more launches by SpaceX,” Kiley wrote in a post on X.
“It is signed by some of the most liberal members of Congress. Yet the California ‘Coastal Commission’ rejected the plan because they don’t like Elon Musk’s political posts. He’s now suing them, and he’ll win.”
The letter states that California is the hub of modern space technology and that increased launches would further the U.S. government’s critical national security missions in space.
Musk said the lawmakers’ efforts were “much appreciated.”
Kiley’s comments come after the Musk-led aerospace company made history with its Starship rocket booster landing in Texas on Sunday.
The event was considered an unprecedented feat after the descending 232-foot booster returned to the launch pad, where it was captured successfully by mechanical arms just seven minutes after blastoff.
“The tower has caught the rocket!!” Musk posted on X. “Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today,” he posted.
Reuters contributed to this report.