SpaceX founder Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission, accusing the agency of blocking his company’s access to the state due to his political affiliation.
The lawsuit centers on the commission’s recent decision, made during an Oct. 10 meeting, which Musk claims restricts SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launch program at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara.
In the legal complaint, Musk is seeking to strip the commission of its regulatory authority over SpaceX’s rocket launches, arguing that the decision was politically motivated. Commission Chairwoman Caryl Hart commented on the matter, acknowledging the political undertones of the situation. “You could argue that it’s bringing in politics, but this is a political matter to some extent because it involves the U.S. government, it involves the Coastal Commission,” Hart said. “We are dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race.”
Musk, who previously supported Democrats, has recently shifted his allegiance to President Trump. In addition to endorsing Trump, Musk has donated millions to a super PAC backing him and attended one of his rallies.
The lawsuit alleges that the commission overstepped its authority by punishing SpaceX for Musk’s political views, stating, “Rarely has a government agency made so clear that it was exceeding its authorized mandate to punish a company for the political views and statements of its largest shareholder and CEO.”
The California Coastal Commission, which is responsible for preserving the state’s coastline, maintains that SpaceX’s launches are not federal government activities and must comply with its coastal development permitting requirements. This legal clash comes as the U.S. Air Force is pushing to increase the number of SpaceX rocket launches from 36 to 50 per year.
