--- title: "Elon Musk Lashes Out at FAA For Scrubbing Starship Launch" description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lashed out at the FAA over a last-minute decision to scrub a launch of the latest prototype of the company's Starship spacecraft." date: "2021-01-28" modified: "2021-01-28" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-lashes-faa-scrubbing-starship-launch" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "FAA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Lashes Out at FAA For Scrubbing Starship Launch ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lashed out at the FAA over a last-minute decision to scrub a launch of the latest prototype of the company's Starship spacecraft.]() *\Image: Daniel Oberhaus via Flickr / Futurism\* ## Backlash Machine SpaceX was [planning to test]() the latest prototype of its ultra-ambitious Starship rocket today. Then a space journalist [reported that]() the FAA had scrubbed the launch — prompting a sharp tongued response from SpaceX's mercurial CEO, Elon Musk. "Unlike its aircraft division, which is fine, the FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure," [Musk replied](). ## Past as Prelude Musk is no stranger to interpersonal conflict; he's feuded publicly with entities including [Bill Gates](), [Jeff Bezos](), [the SEC](), [Pablo Escobar's brother](), a [random cave diver](), and the [rapper Azealia Banks](). At the same time, most of those beefs come down to Musk's unflagging belief in his particular vision of the future. Today's squabble is no exception, with the billionaire arguing that the FAA's rules haven't caught up to the contemporary reality of the space travel industry. "Their rules are meant for a handful of expendable launches per year from a few government facilities," he added. "Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars." ## Moving On It's also worth noting that Musk is just as capable of building bridges. Musk has [sometimes positioned himself]() as an enemy of the left, for instance. But just moments after his FAA tweet, he took the opportunity to agree with progressive Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was [protesting the app Robinhood's decision]() to halt investments related to the controversial online community Wall Street Bets. "Absolutely," [Musk wrote](), throwing his support behind Ocasio-Cortez's critique. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX set to launch its next Starship prototype on Monday]() \[*Ars Technica*\] **More on Starship:** *[Here’s What SpaceX’s Massive New Floating Spaceport Look Like Up Close]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()