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Title: Cards Against Humanity is suing SpaceX for trespassing and filling its
property with ΓÇÿspace garbageΓÇÖ

Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2024 18:18:28 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/science/space/cards-...

Cards Against Humanity is the latest entity to take on Elon Musk in court.
The irreverent party game company filed a $15 million lawsuit against SpaceX
for trespassing on property it owns in Texas, which happens to sit near
SpaceX facilities.

According to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Texas, Musk's rocket
company began using its land without permission for the last six months.
SpaceX took what was previously a ΓÇ£pristineΓÇ¥ plot of land ΓÇ£and
completely fucked that land with gravel, tractors, and space garbage,ΓÇ¥ CAH
wrote in a statement.

As you might expect from the card game company known for its raunchy sense of
humor and headline-grabbing stunts, thereΓÇÖs an amusing backstory to how it
became neighbors with SpaceX in Texas in the first place. In 2017, the
company bought land along the US-Mexico border as part of a crowdfunded
effort to protest then President Donald TrumpΓÇÖs plan to build a border
wall. Since then, the company writes, it has maintained the land with regular
mowing, fencing and ΓÇ£no trespassingΓÇ¥ signs.

SpaceX later purchased adjacent land and, earlier this year, allegedly began
using CAHΓÇÖs land amid some kind of construction project. From the lawsuit
(emphasis theirs):

The site was cleared of vegetation, and the soil was compacted with gravel or
other substance to allow SpaceX and its contractors to run and park its
vehicles all over the Property. Generators were brought in to run equipment
and lights while work was being performed before and after daylight. An
enormous mound of gravel was unloaded onto the Property; the gravel is being
stored and used for the construction of buildings by SpaceXΓÇÖs contractors
along the road. Large pieces of construction equipment and numerous
construction-related vehicles are utilized and stored on the Property
continuously. And, of course, workers are present performing construction
work and staging materials and vehicles for work to be performed on other
tracts. In short, SpaceX has treated the Property as its own for at least six
(6) months without regard for CAHΓÇÖs property rights nor the safety of
anyone entering what has become a worksite that is presumably governed by
OSHA safety requirements.

SpaceX, according to the filing, ΓÇ£never asked for permissionΓÇ¥ to use the
land and ΓÇ£and hasnever reached out to CAH to explain or apologize for the
damage.ΓÇ¥ The rocket company did, however, give ΓÇ£a 12-hour ultimatum to
accept a lowball offer for less than half our landΓÇÖs value,ΓÇ¥ according to
a statement posted online. A spokesperson for CAH said the land in question
is ΓÇ£about an acreΓÇ¥ in size.

What CAH's Texas land looked like prior to SpaceX's alleged
trespassing.Christopher Markos / Cards Against Humanity

In response to the ultimatum, CAH filed a $15 million lawsuit against SpaceX
for trespassing and damaging its property. The game company, which originally
was funded via a Kickstarter campaign, says that if itΓÇÖs successful in
court it will share the proceeds with the 150,000 fans who helped originally
purchase the land in 2017. It created a website where subscribers can sign-up
for a chance to get up to $150 of the potential $15 million payout should
their lawsuit succeed. (A disclaimer notes that ΓÇ£Elon Musk has way more
money and lawyers than Cards Against Humanity, and while CAH will try its
hardest to get me $100, they will probably only be able to get me like $2 or
most likely nothing.)

SpaceX didnΓÇÖt immediately respond to a request for comment. But CAH isnΓÇÖt
the only Texas landowner that's raised questions about the companyΓÇÖs
tactics. SpaceX has been aggressively growing its footprint in Southern Texas
in recent years. The expansion, which has resulted in many locals selling
their land to SpaceX, has rankled some longtime residents, according to an
investigation published by Reuters.

CAH says that MuskΓÇÖs past behavior makes SpaceXΓÇÖs actions ΓÇ£particularly
offensive" to the company known for taking a stance on social issues.

ΓÇ£The 2017 holiday campaign that resulted in the purchase of the Property
was based upon CAH undertaking efforts to fight against ΓÇÿinjustice, lies,
[and] racism,ΓÇ¥ it states. ΓÇ£Thus, it is particularly offensive that these
egregious acts against the Property have been committed by the company run by
Elon Musk. As is widely known, Musk has been accused of tolerating racism and
sexism at Tesla and of amplifying the antisemitic ΓÇÿGreat Replacement
Theory.ΓÇÖ Allowing MuskΓÇÖs company to abuse the Property that CAHΓÇÖs
supporters contributed money to purchase for the sole purpose of stopping
such behavior is totally contrary to both the reason for the contribution and
the tenets on which CAH is based.ΓÇ¥

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/science/space/cards-...
for-trespassing-and-filling-its-property-with-space-garbage-
181828453.html?src=rss

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