Elon Musk, the billionaire who runs ventures such as Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, is a polarizing figure. The billionaire recently earned the wrath of California Gov. Gavin Newsom over artificial intelligence political deepfake videos shared on X social-media platform but has received commendation from a congressman from the state.
Amazing Company: Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) applauded Musk’s SpaceX for its Polaris Dawn mission in a speech at the House and also voiced concerns regarding the regulatory clampdown on the company, a video clip of the speech shared by an X platform user showed.
Polaris Dawn, a private crewed spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman, was launched on Sept. 10. Isaacman and his crew of three, namely Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, flew in an elliptic orbit that took them 1,400 kilometers away from Earth, the farthest anyone has been since NASA’s Apollo program. The crew also performed the first commercial spacewalk.
Talking about SpaceX, Kiley said it was started in California and that he had the opportunity to tour its facility a few years back. It truly is an amazing company and is vital to the U.S.’ leadership when it pertains to space and is also vital to the national security, he said. He also noted that NASA is now relying on SpaceX to bring home two of its astronauts who are stranded at the International Space Station.
See Also: How To Invest In SpaceX
Government’s Vindictiveness: Despite SpaceX being a tremendous asset, the company is being targeted in multiple ways and for frivolous reasons, Kiley said. He noted that the Federal Aviation Administration recently fined $633,000 for trivial non-safety related reasons.
The federal agency has delayed flight five of Starship for two months, also for non-safety related reasons, he said, adding that roadblocks are being thrown in its way.
“We continue to be stuck in the reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware,” Kiley said. “There simply should not be delays related to paperwork or bureaucracy; The FAA and related agencies need to prioritize enabling launches and not standing in their way.”
Responding to the Congressman’s speech, Musk said it is “much appreciated.”
Why It’s Important: Musk has endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, likely warded off by the Biden administration’s failure to acknowledge Tesla as the leader in green energy vehicle manufacturing, the Democratic party’s failure to control infiltration of undocumented immigrants and the party’s leftist agenda.
Recently, Newsom criticized Musk for sharing a deepfake video on Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic Party’s nominee, on X. The governor has now signed a law, banning the use of AI-generated deepfakes in political campaigns.
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