Musk’s SpaceX can pursue retaliation lawsuit against California agency, judge rules

By Mike Scarcella

July 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has ruled that Elon Musk’s SpaceX can pursue a lawsuit accusing a California state agency of illegally targeting the company in retaliation for Musk’s political views.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr in Los Angeles said in a ruling published on Saturday that SpaceX had presented enough information for now to support its claims that the California Coastal Commission was singling out the company for greater regulatory scrutiny.

The commission last year rejected a plan by SpaceX to expand its rocket launches from the Vandenberg U.S. Space Force Base in Santa Barbara. The panel said the SpaceX launches qualified as commercial activity that needed to meet state regulatory requirements.

The U.S. Air Force objected and said it would proceed anyway with additional SpaceX launches.

Blumenfeld in March rejected an earlier version of SpaceX’s lawsuit, but allowed the company to amend and refile it. SpaceX added more allegations and details, the judge said, showing how it could be harmed by the commission’s actions.

SpaceX and the coastal commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

The commission oversees use of land and water within the state’s more than 1,000 miles of coastline.

SpaceX, which contracts with the U.S. government on satellite deployment and other payloads, has launched Falcon 9 rockets from the central California air base since 2013.

SpaceX's lawsuit said the commission unfairly asserted regulatory powers over the company’s launches based on its disapproval of Musk’s political views and not environmental considerations.

One commissioner on the 12-member coastal panel last year accused Musk of "hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods" amid the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Musk was at the time a public ally of Republican Donald Trump.

Blumenfeld trimmed some portions of SpaceX’s lawsuit, including claims against commission members as individuals outside the scope of their official duties.

SpaceX is seeking a declaration that the commission’s demand for a coastal development permit is unlawful.

The case is Space Exploration Technologies Corp v. California Coastal Commission et al, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:24-cv-08893-SB-SK.

For plaintiff: Tyler Welti, Colin Vandell and Mitchell Mirviss of Venable

For defendants: David Alderson and Jessica Bonitz of the California Attorney General’s Office

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