Elon Musk says SpaceX will sue FAA for ‘regulatory overreach’
SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Falcon 9 rocket sits on Launch Complex 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as it is prepared for another attempt to liftoff on September 9, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Elon Musk said SpaceX will sue the Federal Aviation Administration for “regulatory overreach” after the agency planned to fine his defense contractor for issues with two launches last year.
Musk’s threat of litigation, in a post on X on Tuesday, came after the FAA announced it would levy fines amounting to $633,000 against SpaceX because the company had purportedly failed to comply with a variety of licensing and safety-related regulations during those launches.
The FAA said SpaceX used an “unapproved rocket propellant farm” for its EchoStar XXIV Jupiter mission in July 2023. And for its launch a month earlier from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, SpaceX had modified its communication plans and used a new and unapproved launch control room, the FAA said.
According to a “notice of proposed civil penalty,” the FAA clearly informed SpaceX on June 16, 2023, two days before the launch, that the agency “would not issue a modification” to the SpaceX license. SpaceX went ahead anyway.
Musk and a spokesperson for SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information on the focus of the company’s complaint.
Musk also posted comments on X, characterizing the FAA’s latest proposed civil penalties as “lawfare.”
“NASA puts their faith in @SpaceX for all astronaut transport to and from the [International Space Station], but somehow [FAA] leadership thinks they know better,” he wrote in a post to his almost 200 million followers.
The FAA didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In a recent blog post, SpaceX complained about “difficulties launch companies face in the current regulatory environment,” specifically pertaining to “launch and reentry licensing.”
Last year, the FAA said it would fine the company $175,000 for failure to submit required data ahead of a Falcon 9 launch in 2022. SpaceX had paid that fine in full by last October.
In August, the FAA had to scuttle an approved SpaceX Starship Super Heavy environmental review because Musk’s company failed to disclose that it had received multiple enforcement actions from a Texas state and federal environmental authorities.
The FAA’s latest proposed civil penalties highlight the agency’s difficulties obtaining required information from SpaceX in time to review and authorize launches and reentries.
As CNBC previously reported, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that SpaceX had repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act and failed to obtain proper permits for industrial wastewater discharges at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
In addition to taking on the FAA and environmental regulators, Musk has clashed with the National Labor Relations Board. He filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the NLRB is unconstitutional in its structure, and that its administrative processes violate the concept of the separation of powers.
WATCH: SpaceX will sue FAA
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is initiating a secondary share sale that would give the company a valuation of up to $800 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
SpaceX is also telling some investors it will consider going public possibly around the end of next year, the report said.
At the elevated price, Musk’s aerospace and defense contractor would be valued above ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which wrapped up a share sale at a $500 billion valuation in October.
SpaceX has been investing heavily in reusable rockets, launch facilities and satellites, while competing for government contracts with newer space players, including Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin. SpaceX is far ahead, and operates the world’s largest network of satellites in low earth orbit through Starlink, which powers satellite internet services under the same brand name.
A SpaceX IPO would include its Starlink business, which the company previously considered spinning out.
Musk recently discussed whether SpaceX would go public during Tesla‘s annual shareholders meeting last month. Musk, who is the CEO of both companies, said he doesn’t love running publicly traded businesses, in part because they draw “spurious lawsuits,” and can “make it very difficult to operate effectively.”
However, Musk said during the meeting that he wanted to “try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX,” adding, “maybe at some point, SpaceX should become a public company despite all the downsides.”
WATCH: What retail investors should know about OpenAI and SpaceX
The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
A U.S. judge on Friday finalized his decision for the consequences Google will face for its search monopoly ruling, adding new details to the decided remedies.
Last year, Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search, and in September, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed by the Department of Justice.
That included the proposal of a forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser, which provides data that helps the company’s advertising business deliver targeted ads. Alphabet shares popped 8% in extended trading as investors celebrated what they viewed as minimal consequences from a historic defeat last year in the landmark antitrust case.
Investors largely shrugged off the ruling as non-impactful to Google. However some told CNBC it’s still a bite that could “sting.”
Mehta on Friday issued additional details for his ruling in new filings.
“The age-old saying ‘the devil is in the details’ may not have been devised with the drafting of an antitrust remedies judgment in mind, but it sure does fit,” Mehta wrote in one of the Friday filings.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously said it will appeal the remedies.
In August 2024, Mehta ruled that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act and held a monopoly in search and related advertising. The antitrust trial started in September 2023.
In his September decision, Mehta said the company would be able to make payments to preload products, but it could not have exclusive contracts that condition payments or licensing. Google was also ordered to loosen its hold on search data. Mehta in September also ruled that Google would have to make available certain search index data and user interaction data, though “not ads data.”
The DOJ had asked Google to stop the practice of “compelled syndication,” which refers to the practice of making certain deals with companies to ensure its search engine remains the default choice in browsers and smartphones.
The judge’s September ruling didn’t end the practice entirely — Mehta ruled out that Google couldn’t enter into exclusive deals, which was a win for the company. Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on iPhones. It’s lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users.
Mehta’s new details
In the Friday filings, Mehta wrote that Google cannot enter into any deal like the one it’s had with Apple “unless the agreement terminates no more than one year after the date it is entered.”
This includes deals involving generative artificial intelligence products, including any “application, software, service, feature, tool, functionality, or product” that involve or use genAI or large-language models, Mehta wrote.
GenAI “plays a significant role in these remedies,” Mehta wrote.
The judge also reiterated the web index data it will require Google to share with certain competitors.
Google has to share some of the raw search interaction data it uses to train its ranking and AI systems, but it does not have to share the actual algorithms — just the data that feeds them.” In September, Mehta said those data sets represent a “small fraction” of Google’s overall traffic, but argued the company’s models are trained on data that contributed to Google’s edge over competitors.
The company must make this data available to qualified competitors at least twice, one of the Friday filing states. Google must share that data in a “syndication license” model whose term will be five years from the date the license is signed, the filing states.
Mehta on Friday also included requirements on the makeup of a technical committee that will determine the firms Google must share its data with.
Committee “members shall be experts in some combination of software engineering, information retrieval, artificial intelligence, economics, behavioral science, and data privacy and data security,” the filing states.
The judge went on to say that no committee member can have a conflict of interest, such as having worked for Google or any of its competitors in the six months prior to or one year after serving in the role.
Google is also required to appoint an internal compliance officer that will be responsible “for administering Google’s antitrust compliance program and helping to ensure compliance with this Final Judgment,” per one of the filings. The company must also appoint a senior business executive “whom Google shall make available to update the Court on Google’s compliance at regular status conferences or as otherwise ordered.”
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
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