A legal battle between SpaceX and Cards Against Humanity over a plot of land in Texas has come to an end.
Court records show that SpaceX, the rocket company founded in 2002 by billionaire Elon Musk, has settled a lawsuit filed in 2024 by Cards Against Humanity, the maker of the popular satirical party game of the same name. Cards Against Humanity had sued SpaceX in a Texas district court over accusations that Musk’s company had trespassed on and damaged a plot of land it owns near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The undisclosed settlement, reached in September, came before the case was scheduled to go to a jury trial in November.
The land in question appears to be located near Starbase, the company town and headquarters where SpaceX develops and tests many of its rockets, including its massive Starship.
Here’s everything to know about the legal battle between Cards Against Humanity and SpaceX, as well as the recent settlement.
Elon Musk‘s SpaceX settles lawsuit with Cards against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity sued SpaceX for $15 million in 2024 in a district court in Cameron County, Texas where the company’s Starbase company town and headquarters is located.
In the lawsuit, the card company accused SpaceX of ignoring posted “no trespassing” signs while dumping construction materials, gravel and other debris on the land.
Terms of the settlement prevented Cards Against Humanity from disclosing specifics. But a company spokesperson did point the USA TODAY Network to an amended petition filed during the discovery phase in which SpaceX’s lawyers admitted the company had neither received nor asked for “permission from plaintiff to use the property.”
The spokesperson also said in an emailed statement that a trial would have cost more than Cards Against Humanity would likely have won from SpaceX.
“We’re happy to have stood up to a bully like Musk. We’re happy to have forced a settlement. We’re happy they admitted to trespassing on our land,” the spokesperson said in the statement.
SpaceX did not return a message to the USA TODAY Network seeking comment.
What is Cards Against Humanity?
Cards Against Humanity is the company behind the popular adult party game of the same name.
The card-based game tasks players with completing fill-in-the-blank statements, often with inappropriate or vulgar words or phrases – sort of like an R-rated version of Apples to Apples.
Why did Cards Against Humanity purchase Texas land?
Cards Against Humanity, headquartered in Chicago, purchased the Texas land in 2017 during President Donald Trump‘s first term as a stunt to oppose his proposed border wall with Mexico. The card maker even fundraised, with 150,000 fans paying $15 each to “protect a pristine parcel of land,” the company said on a website it created.
Cards Against Humanity said it worked to maintain the land over the years.
The company had promised fans that if it succeeded in its lawsuit against SpaceX, it would to split the $15 million among the 150,000 donors, for up to $100 each.
But in an email sent to fans after the settlement was reached, Cards Against Humanity said of Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, “when it comes to paying you all, he did the legal equivalent of throwing dust in our eyes.” The card maker, though, is offering a free mini-pack of Musk-themed game cards to fans.
“The upside is that SpaceX has removed their construction equipment from our land and we’re able to work with a local landscaping company to restore the land to its natural state,” the company spokesperson’s statement concluded, “devoid of space garbage and pointless border walls.”
Where is SpaceX located in Texas?
Under construction since the 2010s, Starbase is a company town built about 23 miles from Brownsville in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Starbase is home to SpaceX’s rocket program and is where the vehicles are both built and often launched. The complex, about 1.5 square miles in size, houses a landing pad, launch facility, launch control center and tracking station for SpaceX.
In May, Texas voters in Cameron County – most of whom are SpaceX employees – approved a measure to officially recognize the company’s headquarters as its own town, complete with a mayor and city council.
One of the most prominent operations at Starbase is the ongoing development and testing of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket. The launch vehicle, regarded as the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, is the centerpiece of Musk’s vision of sending the first humans to Mars, and is also critical in NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon’s surface.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX settles lawsuit with Cards Against Humanity. Why did it sue?
