On Tuesday, October 15th, Elon Musk’s SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission in federal court, accusing the commission of exhibiting political bias in rejecting the company’s request to increase rocket launch frequency. SpaceX demands to prohibit the commission from regulating SpaceX’s rocket launch plans at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
According to Reuters on Wednesday, October 16th, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission in Los Angeles on Tuesday, seeking to prevent the commission from overseeing SpaceX’s rocket launch plans at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, California.
The lawsuit alleges that the commission is responsible for supervising the use of land and water within 840 miles of California coastline. Recently, it unfairly exercised regulatory authority over SpaceX’s launch activities based on disagreement with Musk’s political views rather than environmental considerations.
The commission declined to comment on Wednesday.
With the upcoming U.S. election, Elon Musk actively supports Republican presidential candidate Trump and has become a significant donor to Trump’s campaign. He has expressed willingness to take on a role in Trump’s administration if Trump wins.
California, the home state of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, has been a solid Democratic state for decades, with Democrats holding all statewide offices and supporting Democratic candidates in national elections.
The California Coastal Commission consists of 12 members appointed jointly by the governor and the state legislature. Recently, one commission member accused Musk of “spewing, tweeting, and spreading political misinformation” during the election.
Commission member Gretchen Newsom expressed concerns about Musk’s political statements on the X social platform during a meeting.
In response, Musk stated on the X platform that these allegations were “highly inappropriate” and infringed upon his freedom of speech. He clarified that his various statements on social platforms were unrelated to the California Coastal Commission.
SpaceX has contracts with the U.S. government for satellite deployment and other payloads. Since 2013, SpaceX has launched Falcon 9 rockets from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, with 28 launches last year.
Last week, SpaceX successfully test flew the giant booster for the Starship spacecraft. The U.S. Space Force recommended increasing SpaceX’s annual launch frequency from 36 to 50 launches. The Space Force stated that the proposal met the requirements of the California coastal agency, including measures to minimize sonic booms and biological monitoring.
However, the California Coastal Commission rejected the Space Force’s formal request to increase launch frequency with a vote of 6-4. One reason cited was the excessive number of sonic booms caused by rocket launches, which would impact the local wildlife habitat. The commission also referred to SpaceX’s activities in the area as commercial rather than governmental.
Musk stated in the lawsuit that any consideration of his personal political stance by the commission was inappropriate and infringed on the free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit also accused the California Coastal Commission of “unconstitutional overreach,” damaging national security and federal interests. It argued that launch activities at the base have “no significant impact on coastal resources.”
The lawsuit document stated, “Rarely has a government entity so explicitly stated that it is punishing a company because of its major shareholder and CEO’s political views and statements, exceeding its authorized scope.”