Cards Against Humanity has filed a $15 million lawsuit against Elon Musk’s SpaceX, accusing the company of trespassing and damaging land the game maker owns on the Texas-Mexico border.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Texas court, claims SpaceX used the property as a dumping site and construction staging area without permission.
The conflict began when SpaceX allegedly cleared vegetation and dumped debris on land that Cards Against Humanity purchased in 2017 through a crowdfunding campaign. Described as previously “pristine” in the lawsuit, the land was bought as part of an effort to block the construction of President Trump’s proposed border wall, with 150,000 fans contributing $1 each to the cause.
Cards Against Humanity, in a letter to its supporters, claimed SpaceX tried to buy the land for less than half its value after the company discovered the damage. “Elon Musk’s SpaceX was building some space thing nearby, and figured they could dump their stuff all over our beautiful plot without asking,” the letter read. The company added that SpaceX gave them a 12-hour ultimatum to accept a low offer. “We said, ‘We’ll see you in court,’” the letter continued, with a humorous postscript, “We will also accept Twitter.com as compensation,” referencing Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the platform.
According to the lawsuit, SpaceX ignored “no trespassing” signs and continued to use the land, leading to environmental damage and a negative impact on Cards Against Humanity’s reputation among its fans.
Local residents and environmental groups have raised similar concerns, accusing SpaceX of environmental violations and disruption to the Brownsville, Texas, community, where SpaceX’s Starbase facility is located.
