We Should Immediately Nationalize SpaceX and Starlink

I guess they could do that, after paying fair market value for the company.

Edit to add: plus, the big beautiful bill is deeply cutting nasa funding. I'm not seeing the current administration being that interested in space related activities.

As an alternative, I like the idea of splitting SpaceX into three companies (Falcon 9, Starlink, and Starship), and requiring Elon to give up voting rights in at least two of them. I think this has some foundation in anti-trust law, and has a better chance of actually happening.

Not going to happen, but the comrades have a point …

First of all, SpaceX's market share in tonnage does not immediately make it an anti-competitive monopolist according to anti-trust law like the article claims. In fact I find it extremely unlikely that an antitrust case would find that SpaceX is a monopolist as the final ruling. Furthermore, even if this was the case, the remedy wouldn't be nationalization, it would almost certainly be breaking it apart (ex: Starlink spun off).

Moving on from there, the entire article hinges around Steve Bannon's idea (an ardent far right extremist) hijacking the "Defense Production Act to nationalize SpaceX. Of course it's blindingly obvious that this is a grossly far-reaching reinterpretation of what the defense production Act was meant for. Even if crewed spaceflight squabbles put the entire nation in danger in the interim period before Boeing Starliner is back in action, NASA does still have exchange agreements with Roscosmos in place.

Taking ideas from far right extremists to repurpose laws for political aims (and considering the source, this is clearly originating from the anti oligarchy angle rather than true concern with a National Security Emergency) is not a reasonable solution, nor is it acceptable in any way. Bannon's idea literally sits alongside twisting other laws to get Trump elected for a third term.

I don't like Musk either. Perhaps an anti-trust case in a court of law would be appropriate, but stop sane-washing this. People like Bannon don't care at all about NASA concerns either. The literal reason they're out on social media stirring the pot is to *normalize" things like this.

I like where this article is coming from - if they're really fighting, push them to fight hard. The sooner we can get the wannabe oligarchs themselves on the bonfire of fascism, the sooner the movement will destroy itself, and the more of our actual country might remain intact.

It would suck having the main private space company be essentially destroyed, but that destruction is essentially similar to what happened when the Tesla became the Swasticar - social media delusion spirals have consequences. Also given the absolutely braindamaged political movements masses of people are falling for, it's not even clear we're ready to expand our civilization into space.

Because Musk said something(s) bad about the president? That should be allowed.

Because those orgs are valuable / important? Lots of companies qualify as that... the entire telecommunications industry would qualify for many of the same reasons.

This whole article talks about the spat more than anything making me think that's the real reason ...

The strange thing is this call happens now, during a Trump administration that has called to privatize as much as possible.

This entire Musk/Trump episode was to plant the seeds to get rid of Trump and get Vance in. Great forces at work here, nothing is ever what it seems. Thiel, A16z, et al all have Musk's back.

Just saying...