SpaceX crane collapse causes OSHA Investigation
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Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast. This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla, X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. I'm your host, Will Walden.

So,

So this is from a live stream from LabPadre, which is a SpaceX-focused YouTube channel. They have live streams, they have commentary, they have podcasts, etc. Go check them out on YouTube, they're one of our buddies. And this video spread very quickly across X, which amplified the concerns about SpaceX's on-site safety practices. The public wants to know if SpaceX is keeping its workers safe,

as it chases after Mars. Now, I can tell you I was there for about 10 or 11 months. I was about, let's say about a year at Starbase documenting the process of SpaceX building starships. And I was talking to the workers. I was on the side of the road at Starbase. And I can vouch for all the safety concerns that people are having. But also, I know that these people were doing as much as they could to be as safe as possible at Starbase.

So when it comes down to it, I hope they don't find anything against SpaceX. But I really hope everyone's safe at Starbase because all those people were very, very nice and very cordial, just good people. They were making a living, working hard out in the sun. So if OSHA finds something wrong with SpaceX, I hope they fix it as soon as possible and nobody else gets hurt.

Now, OSHA said it will release more information once its investigation is finished. But for now, officials have not confirmed whether anyone was hurt in this collapse. I don't think so. And SpaceX has not commented and not reached out to us after we asked them for comment on this.

Elon Musk and senior executives at SpaceX didn't respond to us. The company has previously dealt with safety-related criticism and regulatory scrutiny tied to workplace practices at its various sites. Most of those were settled. They're okay. People were hurt a little bit and they were injured, but they came out ahead after everything and they were fine afterwards.

So SpaceX has had safety issues in the past that go beyond the aerospace industry. In 2014, employee named Simon LeBlanc died while working on site. OSHA's final report concluded that SpaceX failed to protect him from a hazard that was clearly identifiable.

That incident led to a renewed debate about the company's approach to occupational safety, particularly around high-risk work environments like launch sites and construction zones, which is basically all of Starbase. This latest incident arrives just days after the ship explosion during a ground test at Massey's.

These large-scale explosions have become frequent enough that they no longer surprise close observers at Starbase. However, they continue to attract attention from environmental organizations and local officials, especially when the fallout affects surrounding land or wildlife. Following the most recent blast on June 18, SpaceX said the surrounding area was not harmed, but independent assessments have not yet confirmed SpaceX's claim.

So environmental advocacy groups in both the U.S. and Mexico argue that repeated test failures at Starbase have negatively affected habitats along the Gulf Coast. These include breeding grounds for endangered birds and sensitive marine ecosystems. While SpaceX disputes those assertions, the legal and environmental pressure on the company has steadily increased since 2022.

when Starship testing entered a more active phase. This crane collapse adds to the list of infrastructure issues at Starbase, which serves as the central development hub for Starship, and this is the rocket that SpaceX plans to send to Mars. It's also a key part of the Artemis program for NASA.

SpaceX won a multi-billion dollar contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander called the HLS, and they beat out Blue Origin and Dynetics to get this spot. This collapse raises questions about the readiness and reliability of the site supporting these government-backed missions.

Now, SpaceX received $20 billion in federal contracts from NASA and the DoD, placing it among the largest government contractors in aerospace. That level of public funding has sparked ongoing concerns about oversight, especially when safety lapses occur at federally subsidized facilities. If you pay your tax money towards building aerospace infrastructure, such as that of Starbase,

and the rockets that will propel humans back to the moon and to Mars eventually. You want it done in a safe way. Everybody does. With a Venmo debit card, you can Venmo more than just your friends. You can use your balance in so many ways. You can Venmo everything. Need gas? You can Venmo this. How about snacks? You can Venmo that. Your favorite band's merch? You can Venmo this. Or their next show? You can Venmo that. Visit venmo.me slash debit to learn more. You can Venmo this, or you can Venmo that. Yeah!

Everybody wants to subsidize humans' trip to Mars.

Everyone that does, they want it done in a safe manner. And SpaceX, for the most part, has done a good job at that. Now, the fact that the crane failure happened on the same grounds as a NASA project heightens the stakes. And I'm sure NASA was made aware of this crane. And they're also probably going to investigate it, at least ask us a couple questions, some questions to SpaceX representatives. Now, at the same time, political shifts may change the dynamic between regulators and companies like SpaceX.

Trump previously launched a cost-cutting campaign. It's Doge, which is actually led by Elon Musk. Now, the effort resulted in reducing staffing and funding for agencies like OSHA. Imagine that.

At least 11 OSHA field offices closed during the campaign, limiting the agency's ability to monitor and respond to safety violations at facilities just like Starbase. Elon Musk has pushed to install Jared Isaacman, who's a Musk ally and a commercial astronaut on SpaceX's rockets, to become NASA's next leader. The proposal fell apart, though, when tensions between Elon Musk and Donald Trump surfaced.

It just ended the bid before it reached a Senate vote. However, Musk's deep ties to federal projects and his influence on space policy remain intact.

NASA's own position remains uncertain with its budget for the next fiscal year still pending congressional approval. It looks like they're going to slash the budget tremendously, and that's horrible for science programs. Any substantial cuts could delay parts of the Artemis program or shift priorities away from SpaceX-led missions, such as SpaceX launching things to orbit for NASA or sending things to other planets for NASA. We'll see.

Now, there's no immediate link between NASA's funding status and the crane collapse. Both issues affect the company's ability to deliver on key milestones in its development timeline for Starship. This crane collapse and the investigation from OSHA will determine whether SpaceX followed required safety protocols. If violations are found, the company could face penalties or increased oversight. And until then, we don't know what's going to happen.

And if they just have to pay a fine, they'll continue doing Starbase until they launch to Mars. And it'll be completely fine unless somebody was hurt. And of course, then that will go to court.

Hey, thank you so much for listening today. I really do appreciate your support. If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening on right now, I'd greatly appreciate it. It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never miss an episode. And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you caught up quickly. And please, if you want to support the show even more, go to patreon.com slash stage zero.

And please take care of yourselves and each other, and I'll see you tomorrow.