The National Labor Review Board (NLRB) has dropped a case against SpaceX for allegedly illegally firing eight employees in 2022. The employees, who circulated a letter around SpaceX offices referencing Elon Musk’s sexual misconduct and calling the executive an embarrassment, were fired by the space company shortly thereafter.
The NRLB took up the illegal dismissal case in 2024 and filed a complaint against the company.
However, after almost two years, the NRLB is dropping the case as regulating SpaceX falls under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB), not the NRLB.
Since SpaceX allows anyone to book a space flight, SpaceX lawyers argued that it should be treated like an airline and fall under NMB jurisdiction. The NMB agreed and issued a decision confirming SpaceX’s findings in January 2026. Only a few weeks after the NMB release, the NRLB officially dismissed the complaint against SpaceX.
As SpaceX is now considered under the same labour system as airlines and railroads, this could mean major changes to the employee-employer relationship.
For workers, there will be a higher barrier to unionization and reduced organized protections, as legal precedent favours preventing strikes and interruptions to commerce in the corresponding legislation. For SpaceX, this means they can seek damages in court if labour disruptions delay or cancel launches.
