Newsom supports SpaceX decision: ‘I'm with Elon’
California Governor Gavin Newsom is siding with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a dispute involving state regulators.
TroibNews 
**CHARLOTTE, North Carolina** — Governor Gavin Newsom has voiced his support for Elon Musk amid the billionaire's conflict with a California agency that rejected an expansion plan for SpaceX's rocket launches along the Pacific coast.
"I'm with Elon," Newsom, a Democrat, stated in an interview on Thursday after campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina. "I didn't like that."
On Tuesday, Musk filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission in federal court in Los Angeles, claiming that the commission “engaged in naked political discrimination” by citing his backing of former President Donald Trump as a reason for rejecting a Department of Defense proposal to increase launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“Look, I’m not helping the legal case,” Newsom admitted, adding, "You can't bring up that explicit level of politics.”
The governor expressed general agreement with Musk’s lawsuit, asserting that the independent agency should have limited its discussions to the merits of the permit instead of delving into Musk's political affiliations.
"These are friends of mine that said that," Newsom noted, referencing some of the commissioners he appoints. "These are good commissioners. But you got to call balls and strikes. And trust me, I'm not big on the Elon Musk bandwagon right now. So that's me calling balls and strikes.”
While Newsom and Musk have clashed on various topics over social media, including protections for transgender and gay students and a bill barring political deepfakes, there has also been notable tension stemming from Musk's fluctuating decisions to relocate his businesses outside of California.
Newsom has been a vocal critic of Trump on multiple fronts. In the interview with PMG, he rebuked the former president for threatening to withhold substantial federal disaster relief unless California complied with his demands, which the governor described as out of touch.
Newsom remarked that it was “encouraging, in this respect, that Elon saw the daylight” regarding the issue of punishing political adversaries. However, he questioned Musk's character, highlighting that the tech titan's contributions amounting to at least $75 million in support of Trump's reelection bid raised concerns about his “consistency in character.”
The California Coastal Commission's narrow 6-4 decision against the Air Force’s increased launch plan was based on worries that classifying all SpaceX activities as military operations would complicate the enforcement of environmental standards. The lengthy debate leading up to the vote shifted focus to Musk’s political comments, his support for Trump, and his remarks on transgender issues, along with concerns about labor practices at his companies.
“Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom—who is not related to the governor—stated during the recent meeting in San Diego.
Both Gretchen Newsom and agency Chair Caryl Hart voted against the proposal, criticizing Musk’s behavior, while Commissioners Mike Wilson and Justin Cummings raised concerns about Musk or SpaceX’s labor practices but ultimately supported the increase in launches. Wilson is a Newsom appointee, while Hart and Cummings were appointed by the state Assembly, and Gretchen Newsom was appointed by the state Senate.
The governor emphasized that his appointees had supported the permit and that his administration had collaborated with the Defense Department before the vote to try to reach a compromise over the proposed increase in rocket launches.
“I do not control that commission, infamously, in any way, shape or form, but two appointees did what I thought was the right thing," Newsom said. "We worked with Space Force. We worked with the base commander [Colonel Mark Shoemaker] there in good faith.”
Ahead of last week's meeting, there seemed to be a truce as the Air Force, overseeing Space Force, agreed in September to meet the commission’s seven stipulations, which included measures to reduce sonic booms and enhance wildlife monitoring.
"Our team was working with them behind the scenes, Dee Dee [Myers], Wade [Crowfoot], others, there were legitimate concerns the coastal staff expressed,” Newsom told PMG on Thursday, referencing his business adviser and natural resources director.
“We engaged in the spirit of finding compromise. It wasn't about SpaceX, it was about exploration and other precedent,” he explained. “So I saw that [decision, and thought] that's not what this was about. … They certainly could have said, ‘We are just not comfortable with [the proposal] right now.’ But that wasn't what they said.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
"I'm with Elon," Newsom, a Democrat, stated in an interview on Thursday after campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina. "I didn't like that."
On Tuesday, Musk filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission in federal court in Los Angeles, claiming that the commission “engaged in naked political discrimination” by citing his backing of former President Donald Trump as a reason for rejecting a Department of Defense proposal to increase launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“Look, I’m not helping the legal case,” Newsom admitted, adding, "You can't bring up that explicit level of politics.”
The governor expressed general agreement with Musk’s lawsuit, asserting that the independent agency should have limited its discussions to the merits of the permit instead of delving into Musk's political affiliations.
"These are friends of mine that said that," Newsom noted, referencing some of the commissioners he appoints. "These are good commissioners. But you got to call balls and strikes. And trust me, I'm not big on the Elon Musk bandwagon right now. So that's me calling balls and strikes.”
While Newsom and Musk have clashed on various topics over social media, including protections for transgender and gay students and a bill barring political deepfakes, there has also been notable tension stemming from Musk's fluctuating decisions to relocate his businesses outside of California.
Newsom has been a vocal critic of Trump on multiple fronts. In the interview with PMG, he rebuked the former president for threatening to withhold substantial federal disaster relief unless California complied with his demands, which the governor described as out of touch.
Newsom remarked that it was “encouraging, in this respect, that Elon saw the daylight” regarding the issue of punishing political adversaries. However, he questioned Musk's character, highlighting that the tech titan's contributions amounting to at least $75 million in support of Trump's reelection bid raised concerns about his “consistency in character.”
The California Coastal Commission's narrow 6-4 decision against the Air Force’s increased launch plan was based on worries that classifying all SpaceX activities as military operations would complicate the enforcement of environmental standards. The lengthy debate leading up to the vote shifted focus to Musk’s political comments, his support for Trump, and his remarks on transgender issues, along with concerns about labor practices at his companies.
“Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom—who is not related to the governor—stated during the recent meeting in San Diego.
Both Gretchen Newsom and agency Chair Caryl Hart voted against the proposal, criticizing Musk’s behavior, while Commissioners Mike Wilson and Justin Cummings raised concerns about Musk or SpaceX’s labor practices but ultimately supported the increase in launches. Wilson is a Newsom appointee, while Hart and Cummings were appointed by the state Assembly, and Gretchen Newsom was appointed by the state Senate.
The governor emphasized that his appointees had supported the permit and that his administration had collaborated with the Defense Department before the vote to try to reach a compromise over the proposed increase in rocket launches.
“I do not control that commission, infamously, in any way, shape or form, but two appointees did what I thought was the right thing," Newsom said. "We worked with Space Force. We worked with the base commander [Colonel Mark Shoemaker] there in good faith.”
Ahead of last week's meeting, there seemed to be a truce as the Air Force, overseeing Space Force, agreed in September to meet the commission’s seven stipulations, which included measures to reduce sonic booms and enhance wildlife monitoring.
"Our team was working with them behind the scenes, Dee Dee [Myers], Wade [Crowfoot], others, there were legitimate concerns the coastal staff expressed,” Newsom told PMG on Thursday, referencing his business adviser and natural resources director.
“We engaged in the spirit of finding compromise. It wasn't about SpaceX, it was about exploration and other precedent,” he explained. “So I saw that [decision, and thought] that's not what this was about. … They certainly could have said, ‘We are just not comfortable with [the proposal] right now.’ But that wasn't what they said.”
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
