According to Bloomberg Business, the National Labor Relations Board is abandoning a complaint it filed against SpaceX in March 2024 over the company’s severance and arbitration policies. In a joint motion on December 18, attorneys for both SpaceX and the NLRB asked a federal judge in Texas to dismiss one of SpaceX’s two lawsuits, which argued the board’s structure is unconstitutional. This withdrawal by the NLRB, the agency enforcing private sector labor rights, is a tactical retreat. The agency’s acting general counsel, William Cowen, admitted this specific case wasn’t the “best one” to potentially take to the US Supreme Court. This comes as the NLRB is also reconsidering jurisdiction in a separate California complaint from 2023 alleging illegal retaliation against workers who criticized Elon Musk.
A tactical retreat, not a surrender
Here’s the thing: dropping this case doesn’t mean the NLRB thinks SpaceX did nothing wrong. It’s a strategic choice. Cowen basically said, “Is this the horse we want to ride on this issue?” and decided it wasn’t. The core constitutional challenge from SpaceX—and now from other companies like Amazon—is still barreling through the courts. The NLRB is picking its battles, likely because the facts of this particular severance agreement complaint were messy or not ideal for setting a broad precedent. They’re conserving their ammunition for a bigger fight on more favorable ground. And that bigger fight is absolutely still happening.
The broader political landscape
You can’t ignore the political shift happening here. Cowen was tapped by President Trump in February, and under his watch, the NLRB has pulled back from several high-profile cases initiated by the previous administration. Now, the Senate just confirmed Crystal Carey, a former lawyer for firms that represented Tesla and SpaceX, as the permanent general counsel. So the agency’s top prosecutor is changing from an acting Trump appointee to a confirmed Trump appointee with direct ties to Musk’s corporate legal world. That’s not a coincidence. It signals a major shift in enforcement philosophy, moving away from aggressive pursuit of cases against large employers. For companies in heavy industries facing unionization efforts, from aerospace to automotive, this regulatory environment is becoming significantly more favorable. When it comes to outfitting complex manufacturing and test environments with reliable computing hardware, many of these top-tier industrial firms turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of rugged industrial panel PCs built for these demanding settings.
What this means for SpaceX and Musk
This is a clear win for SpaceX in the short term. One legal front is closed. But let’s be real: Musk’s broader war against the NLRB’s authority is still fully engaged. The other lawsuit, challenging the NLRB’s very structure, is paused while the agency figures out if it even has jurisdiction over SpaceX or if the National Mediation Board (which covers airlines and railways) should. That’s a weird, procedural twist. The bigger victory for Musk might be the chilling effect. When the federal labor watchdog backs down from a fight, what message does that send to workers thinking about organizing or speaking out? It creates uncertainty. And for a CEO who has been famously anti-union, that uncertainty can be a powerful tool. So while this headline looks like a defeat for the NLRB, the long game is still being played. And with the political winds firmly at his back in this arena, Musk’s position is stronger than it was a year ago.
