Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to launch a scathing attack on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Musk accused the FAA of prioritizing petty matters concerning SpaceX while neglecting significant safety issues at Boeing. He argued that this misallocation of resources endangers human lives.
Musk’s criticism stemmed from a letter SpaceX sent to Congress detailing the FAA’s alleged shortcomings. The letter, addressed to key members of Congress including Rep. Frank Lucas, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, highlighted the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the evolving commercial spaceflight industry.
SpaceX alleged that the FAA had cited violations, including the use of an unapproved propellant farm and an updated communications plan, without justification. SpaceX vehemently denied these allegations, arguing that the FAA’s actions were untimely and irrelevant to public safety.
Musk, in his X post, stated, “This is deeply wrong and puts human lives at risk.” He further emphasized SpaceX’s commitment to safety and criticized the FAA for its perceived inefficiencies.
The letter also pointed out that the FAA had approved the same propellant farm for other launches, raising questions about the consistency of the agency’s safety determinations. SpaceX’s letter concluded with a call for change, urging Congress to address the FAA’s perceived failings.
The controversy follows ongoing tensions between SpaceX and the FAA. On Thursday, Musk claimed the FAA had levied a $633,009 fine on SpaceX for regulatory violations, suggesting that the agency unfairly favors Boeing. Musk’s comments were in response to a post by Mario Nawfal, who criticized the FAA’s actions against SpaceX.
Musk questioned why Boeing had not been fined despite NASA deeming their spacecraft unsafe for returning astronauts. He stated, “Amazingly, no Starliner fines for Boeing! The FAA space division is harassing SpaceX about nonsense that doesn’t affect safety while giving a free pass to Boeing even after NASA concluded that their spacecraft was not safe enough to bring back the astronauts.”
Despite these accusations and delays in FAA launch clearance, SpaceX continues to press forward with its Starship program. On Thursday, the company tested the engines of its Starship launch vehicle for its sixth flight test, even as the timeline for its fifth flight remains uncertain.
SpaceX has been making significant strides in its mission goals. On Wednesday, the company launched its 90th mission for the year with a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the European Commission’s Galileo L13 mission to medium Earth orbit from Florida. Despite these achievements, SpaceX still has over a third of its launch target for the year yet to go.
Musk’s public accusations highlight the growing tension between SpaceX and the FAA and raise concerns about the agency’s role in regulating the rapidly evolving commercial space industry. It remains to be seen how the FAA will respond to these criticisms and whether Congress will take action to address the concerns raised by SpaceX.
