Enough is enough, says Elon Musk over US FAA fining SpaceX ‘for trivia’

NEW DELHI — Blasting the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for fining SpaceX “for trivia”, CEO and founder Elon Musk on Friday said, “enough is enough”.

Taking to his social media platform X, Musk lashed out at the FAA for “attacking SpaceX for petty matters” while not taking any action against Boeing “for putting astronauts at risk”.

The FAA had on Tuesday, proposed $633,009 in civil penalties against SpaceX for allegedly failing to follow its licence requirements during two launches in 2023, by statutorily-set civil penalty guidelines, a statement read.

The FAA stated that SpaceX used the unapproved launch control room for the PSN SATRIA mission and did not conduct the required T-2 hour poll on June 18, 2023. The agency also offered SpaceX a 30-day time to respond.

“The @FAANews leadership spends their resources attacking @SpaceX for petty matters that have nothing to do with safety while neglecting real safety issues at Boeing. This is deeply wrong and puts human lives at risk,” he said.

“NASA deemed the Boeing capsule unsafe for astronaut return, turning, out of necessity, to SpaceX, yet instead of fining Boeing for putting astronauts at risk, the FAA is fining SpaceX for trivia! Enough is enough,” the Tesla CEO added.

The billionaire’s comments came as Boeing’s Starliner which launched Indian-origin Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station was deemed unfit by NASA to return the astronauts. While the spacecraft returned safely to Earth without the crew, the US space agency roped in SpaceX to bring the astronauts back next year.

Earlier SpaceX said that for nearly two years, the company “has voiced its concerns with the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial spaceflight industry”.

It said that the agency does not have the resources to review licensing materials timely, but “focuses its limited resources on areas unrelated to public safety”.

Musk also called FAA allegations politically motivated, and stating to file a “suit against the FAA for regulatory overreach”.