Space

US Labor Board Gives Up Oversight of SpaceX in Victory for Musk

Agency drops yearslong case over firing of Musk critics.

Elon Musk during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. — Elon Musk during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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By Josh Eidelson

February 9, 2026 at 10:01 PM UTC

The US labor board is abandoning a yearslong legal battle against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and signaling it will steer clear of future cases against the company.

Two years after issuing a complaint accusing the aerospace firm of firing eight engineers because of their involvement in an open letter criticizing Musk, the National Labor Relations Board said it was dismissing the case.