The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has formally dropped its 2024 complaint against SpaceX, concluding that the rocket company falls under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) rather than the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that the NLRB enforces.
In a February 6, 2026, letter to attorneys representing eight fired SpaceX employees, NLRB Regional Director Danielle Pierce announced the dismissal, citing a January 14, 2025, opinion from the National Mediation Board (NMB) that classified SpaceX as a “common carrier by air” engaged in interstate or foreign commerce and a “carrier by air transporting mail for or under contract with the United States Government.”
The development comes as Elon Musk has dramatically shifted SpaceX’s focus toward lunar exploration. The company is playing a central role in NASA’s Artemis program, with Starship designated as the human landing system for Artemis III, the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
But Musk has redrawn the roadmap for SpaceX’s interplanetary ambitions, elevating the Moon from a stepping stone to a strategic destination in its own right.
The billionaire founder said the company is now prioritizing the construction of a “self-growing city” on the lunar surface, a project he believes could be realized in less than 10 years, even as plans for Mars are pushed slightly further into the future.
In a post on X on Sunday, Musk said SpaceX still intends to begin building a city on Mars within five to seven years, but described the Moon as the faster and more urgent option.
“The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he wrote.
The NLRB ruling arrives at a moment when SpaceX is pouring resources into Starship production, lunar infrastructure, and government partnerships, potentially complicating labor dynamics in a rapidly scaling workforce.
The original NLRB complaint, issued in January 2024, alleged that SpaceX illegally fired eight employees who signed an open letter criticizing CEO Elon Musk as a “frequent source of embarrassment” and accusing him of undermining the company’s reputation and mission. The complaint sought reinstatement, back pay, and letters of apology from the company.
SpaceX responded aggressively, suing the NLRB in federal court and arguing that the agency’s structure is unconstitutional—a separate lawsuit that remains ongoing. Later, SpaceX raised the jurisdictional issue, claiming it qualifies as a common carrier similar to airlines or railroads.
In April 2025, SpaceX and the NLRB jointly asked a federal appeals court to pause proceedings while the NLRB referred the matter to the NMB for an advisory opinion. The joint filing noted the referral was made “in the interests of potentially settling the legal disputes currently pending between the NLRB and SpaceX on terms mutually agreeable to both parties.”
The NMB’s January 2026 decision was decisive. It determined that SpaceX’s operations—including Starlink satellite deployments, NASA crew missions to the International Space Station, and government mail transport contracts—bring it within the RLA’s scope.
The RLA, enacted in 1926 and amended over time, governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries and is enforced by the NMB. Unlike the NLRA, which broadly protects private-sector employees’ rights to organize, engage in concerted activity, and be protected from retaliation, the RLA imposes an extensive, multi-step dispute-resolution process that makes strikes extremely difficult and gives employers greater leverage.
Employers covered by the RLA are exempt from NLRA coverage. Anne Shaver, an attorney representing the fired employees, criticized the outcome sharply.
“The Railway Labor Act does not apply to space travel,” she told Ars Technica. “It is alarming that the NMB would take the initiative to radically expand the RLA’s jurisdiction to space travel absent direction from Congress, and that the NLRB would simply defer. We find the decision to be contrary to law and public policy.”
The employees’ legal team had argued in a July 2025 filing to the NMB that SpaceX does not function as a true common carrier. They pointed out that human spaceflight contracts have been limited to government missions and two high-profile private individuals—Jared Isaacman (Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn) and Chun Wang (Fram2)—and that marketing materials were selectively shared rather than broadly offered to the public.
The filing also noted that SpaceX redacted pricing information from materials submitted as exhibits, arguing this undermined claims of public carrier status.
The case reflects a broader pattern under the second Trump administration. Jennifer Abruzzo, NLRB General Counsel during the Biden presidency, had rejected SpaceX’s earlier claims of RLA coverage. After Trump fired Abruzzo in January 2025, SpaceX renewed its jurisdictional arguments, ultimately leading to the NMB referral and today’s dismissal.
The ruling could have far-reaching implications for labor relations in the commercial space sector. If upheld, it may limit union organizing rights and protections for SpaceX employees, potentially setting a precedent for other emerging space companies as the industry scales rapidly.
SpaceX’s workforce has grown significantly in recent years, driven by Starship development, Starlink constellation expansion, and NASA contracts. The NMB’s expansive interpretation of “common carrier by air” and “carrier by air transporting mail” has drawn criticism from labor advocates as an overreach not clearly authorized by Congress.
For now, the NLRB’s dismissal ends the agency’s involvement in the 2024 firings case, shifting any potential future labor disputes at SpaceX to the RLA framework and the NMB. The fired employees’ legal team has indicated it may challenge the NMB opinion or pursue other avenues, but the immediate NLRB case is closed.
