The Antitrust Case Against SpaceX - The Sling

In May , the New York Times ran a story titled “ Elon Musk Dominates Space Launch. Rivals are calling Foul’s near monopoly on rocket launches is a huge concern, says Aaron Miller .

Miller : In 2023 , SpaceX secured $3.1 billion in federal prime contracts for space transportation.

He says SpaceX 's market share is protected by entry barriers; it has deep ties to NASA and the Pentagon , which have awarded it billions of dollars in contracts and elevated it to prime contractor status.

Miller says SpaceX is dominant in space transportation and has 80 percent of world's cargo.

The ability of the U.S. to reach orbit in the near term “remains largely dependent on Mr. Musk and his Falcon 9 rocket,” says Eric Liu .

Liu : SpaceX’s high fixed costs, long development periods, and strategic launch schedules can counter any evidence of initial entry.

Liu says SpaceX 's ride-sharing program might be predatory.

He says SpaceX could only offer such a low price by subsiding those flights with some of its government contracting revenue.

SpaceX could be distorting competition in satellite broadband, a vertically related service to rocket launches.

SpaceX's exclusionary contracts with customers have all the markings of an anticompetitive restraint.