Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company has sued the California Coastal Commission, alleging in federal court that the panel’s members are biased against the billionaire owner’s conservative political views, according to papers obtained today.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, alleges “unconstitutional overreach” by the commission after members criticized Musk’s political leanings during a meeting about whether to approve more frequent SpaceX launches off the California coastline.
“We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” The Los Angeles Times quoted Commission Chair Caryl Hart as saying during the meeting.
Musk contends the commission, which regulates the use of land and water in the state’s coastal zone, unfairly asserted its powers by rejecting an application by the U.S. Space Force on behalf of SpaceX to increase the number of annual Falcon 9 rocket launches from 36 to 50 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“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,” SpaceX alleges in the 45-page lawsuit.
Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond, according to the company’s website. The company uses the Port of Long Beach as a base for recovery operations of the boosters.
A request for comment left with a spokesperson for the California Coastal Commission was not immediately answered.
The lawsuit accuses the commission of violating the First Amendment’s protection against government discrimination based on political speech.
Musk reportedly gave a pro-Donald Trump super PAC at least $75 million for Trump’s presidential re-election bid. Musk has also appeared on the campaign trail with Trump this year.
In July, Musk threatened to relocate SpaceX’s Hawthorne headquarters to Texas over a California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that prohibits schools from informing parents if their child changes gender identity.