SpaceX has sued the California Coastal Commission.
Legal experts said Musk will need to prove the commission would have granted the flights, if not for Musk's politics.
In the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Musk's SpaceX accused the commission of '"unconstitutional overreach" after members criticized his political leanings during a meeting about whether to approve more frequent SpaceX launches off the California coastline.
"But if a court concludes that it's more likely than not that the result would have been different but for Musk's speech, then there would be a violation," said Volokh.
AdvertisementNeither SpaceX nor the California Coastal Commission immediately responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Persons:
—, Elon Musk, Gretchen Newsom, Musk, Caryl Hart, Eugene Volokh, David Driesen, Driesen, Volokh, Sarah Kreps, Kreps
Organizations:
SpaceX, California Coastal Commission, Service, Court, Central, Central District of, US Space Force, Vandenberg Space Force, UCLA, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Syracuse University, Tech, Institute, Cornell University, California Coastal, Business
Locations:
California, Central District, Central District of California