SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently filed a lawsuit against a quasi-judicial agency in California, after the agency rejected a proposal from SpaceX to increase rocket launches. Governor Newsom publicly expressed his support for Musk.
Newsom, after attending Vice President Harris’s campaign event in North Carolina on the 17th, told Politico in an interview, “I support Elon.”
On the 10th of this month, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) rejected SpaceX’s proposal to increase the number of Falcon 9 rocket launches at the Vandenberg Space Force Base due to Musk’s political activities. Three days later, Musk stated on Twitter, “This is highly inappropriate.” SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the commission in federal court in Los Angeles on the 15th.
Regarding the way CCC handled SpaceX’s proposal, Newsom stated, “I don’t like it.” The commission is responsible for overseeing land and water use along over 1,000 miles of the state’s coastline.
These rockets are primarily used for launching SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, providing commercial satellite internet and telecommunication services, as well as conducting military missions. Officials believe that these missions are crucial for national defense.
The U.S. Air Force initially requested the CCC to approve an increase in SpaceX’s rocket launch plan from 36 to 50 launches. Officials argued that these launches should be considered “federal agency activities.” The commission voted 6:4 to reject the proposal on the 10th, stating that commercial space launches are not federal government activities and must adhere to the commission’s coastal development permits.
During extensive discussions on the matter, commissioners also expressed concerns about Musk’s social media posts and his public support for former President Trump. CCC board chair Hart said, “We are dealing with a company whose leader is deeply involved in the presidential election and the way he runs the company… it’s very concerning.”
In the lawsuit, SpaceX argued that CCC’s actions were “blatant political discrimination.” The lawsuit pointed out, “For a government agency to so clearly overstep its authority and penalize a company based on the political views and statements of its largest shareholder and CEO is extremely rare.”
Newsom stated that he broadly agrees with SpaceX’s decision to sue the Central District Court of California. He told Politico, “Listen, I’m not helping this legal case,” but “you can’t bring in such clear political dimensions.” Newsom pointed out that CCC made mistakes in the discussion, not focusing on the merits of granting permissions, but deviating from the topic to broadly discuss Musk’s political views.
Newsom appointed some members of the CCC. He stated, “These are all excellent commissioners. But you have to judge fairly. Trust me, I am not supporting everything Elon Musk does right now. So this is me judging fairly.” The governor also mentioned that his office assisted in formulating the proposal to increase SpaceX’s launch frequency.
According to representative Smith, as per CCC’s statement, being rejected by the commission may not necessarily mean the end of SpaceX’s new proposal. While certain activities of federal agencies like the Space Force may require approval from the commission, they still have the authority to act as they see fit, regardless of the commission’s decision.
Epoch Times had requested comments from the California Coastal Commission regarding Newsom’s remarks, but as of the deadline, no response has been received.