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California regulators apologized to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after settling a lawsuit that said a state agency showed political bias toward him and his company. The apology came from the California Coastal Commission, which told a federal court that it would not consider certain “irrelevant” factors when making regulatory decisions involving SpaceX.
The settlement followed the commission’s dispute with SpaceX over plans to expand the launch schedule for Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Southern California coast near Santa Barbara. SpaceX’s lawsuit argued the commission refused to approve a U.S. Air Force proposal to increase the number of launches at the federal base because commissioners allegedly disliked Musk’s political views, which SpaceX said violated constitutional free-speech and due-process protections.
In federal court documents filed Tuesday, the Coastal Commission acknowledged that it “may not consider irrelevant factors in performing its function.” The commission also specifically agreed that it “will not take into account the perceived political beliefs, political speech or labor practices of SpaceX or its officers in considering any regulatory action concerning SpaceX,” language included as part of the settlement record.
The agreement further addressed statements made in a 2024 hearing related to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch program. As part of the settlement, the commission acknowledged its members made “improper” statements about Musk’s political beliefs at the hearing, according to the account in the court filings.
Under the settlement, the lawsuit will be permanently dismissed. The parties also agreed that the deal does not constitute an admission “of any liability or unlawful conduct,” a condition described as part of the terms agreed to by both sides.
Alongside the dismissal terms, the settlement included an obligation involving California’s coastal permitting process. The Coastal Commission agreed it would not require a coastal development permit relating to SpaceX’s launch program in the state.
The Coastal Commission also issued a statement on Wednesday saying it had apologized for “irrelevant” statements made by its members. In that same statement, the commission said it continued to have serious concerns about what it described as impacts to coastal resources from increased rocket launches at Vandenberg.
Those concerns, the commission said, include restrictions on public coastal access, harm to sensitive species and coastal habitat, and the frequency and intensity of sonic booms. The commission said federal law requires the federal government to provide information to and coordinate with the Coastal Commission on such issues and that it had not yet received sufficient information about these activities and their impact on the California coast.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement, according to the report. The settlement also landed while Musk was taking the stand this week in a separate court battle with OpenAI cofounder Sam Altman that could affect the future development of artificial intelligence.