Wednesday, June 10, 2020

SpaceX Bails On Lease At Port Of Los Angeles, Again

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has bailed on a pending deal to lease space at the Port of Los Angeles, the second time it has done so in the last year. The withdrawal of SpaceX's lease comes after a massive scramble by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners to approve a 10-year agreement with SpaceX in February. SpaceX did not give a reason for withdrawing from the lease, however, it comes after Elon Musk threatened to leave California because of the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Port of Los Angeles location was supposed to be the manufacturing site for the Starship, which SpaceX eventually wants to take to Mars. SpaceX had rejected another, approved lease back in January of 2019, saying it would rather manufacture the spacecraft in Texas.