Cards Against Humanity is the latest group to take on Elon Musk in court. The irreverent party game company has filed a $15 million lawsuit against SpaceX for trespassing on its Texas property, which happens to be near a SpaceX facility.
According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas, Musk’s rocket company began using the company’s land without permission over the past six months. SpaceX has “totally trashed” the previously “clean” parcel of land with gravel, tractors and space debris,” CAH said in a statement.
There’s an interesting backstory to how the card game company, known for its crude sense of humor and attention-grabbing stunts, ended up as SpaceX’s neighbors in Texas in the first place: In 2017, the company purchased land along the US-Mexico border as part of a crowdfunded protest against then-President Donald Trump’s plans to build a border wall. The company says it has been maintaining the land ever since with regular mowing, fencing and “no trespassing” signs.
SpaceX subsequently purchased adjacent property and allegedly began using CAH’s land as part of a construction project earlier this year. From the lawsuit (emphasis added):
The site has been cleared of vegetation and the soil has been compacted with gravel and other materials to allow SpaceX and its contractors to drive and park vehicles throughout the site. Generators have been brought in to run equipment and lights while work is taking place before and after dawn. Huge piles of gravel have been unloaded onto the site. The gravel has been stored and is being used to construct buildings by SpaceX contractors along the roads. Large construction equipment and numerous construction related vehicles are continually in use and stored on the site. And of course, workers are performing construction work and preparing materials and vehicles for work being done on other parcels. In short, SpaceX has been treating the site as their own for at least six months without any regard for the property rights of the CAH or the safety of anyone entering the work site, which is supposedly governed by OSHA safety requirements.
The lawsuit says SpaceX “never asked for permission to use the land” and “never contacted CAH to explain or apologize for the damages.” But the rocket company “gave CAH a 12-hour ultimatum to accept a low offer that was less than half the land’s value,” according to a statement posted online. A CAH spokesman said the land in question is “approximately one acre.”
CAH’s Texas property before the SpaceX trespassing allegations. (Christopher Markos / Cards Against Humanity)
In response to the ultimatum, CAH filed a $15 million lawsuit, accusing SpaceX of trespassing and damaging its land. The gaming company, which initially raised funds through a Kickstarter campaign, said that if it wins in court, it will split the proceeds with the 150,000 fans who helped buy the land in 2017. The company created a website where people can sign up for a chance to win up to $150 of the $15 million that could be paid out if the lawsuit is successful. (The disclaimer states, “Elon Musk has far more money and lawyers than Cards Against Humanity, and while CAH will try its best to get $100 from me, it’s likely that it will only get around $2, or nothing at all.”)
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But CAH is not the only Texas landowner questioning the company’s strategy. SpaceX has been aggressively expanding its operations in South Texas in recent years. That expansion has led many locals to sell their land to SpaceX, according to a Reuters investigation, angering some longtime residents.
The CAH said Musk’s past actions make SpaceX’s actions “particularly disturbing,” as the company is known for taking stands on social issues.
“The 2017 holiday campaign that led to the property purchase was based on CAH’s efforts to fight ‘injustice, lies and racism,'” the statement said. “It is therefore particularly disturbing that these egregious actions against the property were perpetrated by a company run by Elon Musk. As is widely known, Musk has been accused of condoning racism and sexism at Tesla and amplifying the anti-Semitic ‘Great Replacement Theory.’ Allowing Musk’s company to misuse properties purchased with CAH supporters’ donations solely to stop such behavior is completely counter to both the reasons for the donation and CAH’s beliefs.”
