The irreverent card game company Cards Against Humanity known for its biting humor and political stunts has managed to notch a modest legal victory against Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The unusual clash centers on a remote patch of land along the Texas-Mexico border, which the game makers originally bought in protest of former President Trump’s proposed border wall.
In an email sent to customers this week, Cards Against Humanity announced that SpaceX had “admitted on the record that they illegally trespassed” on the company’s land. The note didn’t hold back its characteristic snark, stating that Musk’s team “packed up the space garbage and fucked off” after acknowledging their mistake.
The land in question was purchased back in 2017 through a crowdfunding campaign that invited players to “save America” by buying small portions of land to obstruct any potential construction of the border wall. But in 2024, the company discovered tractors, piles of building materials, and active construction equipment belonging to SpaceX scattered across the property prompting a lawsuit that accused Musk’s company of trespassing and property damage.
Though the admission of wrongdoing counts as a clear win for Cards Against Humanity, the company fell short of its $15 million damages claim. “Musk did the legal equivalent of throwing dust in our eyes and kicking us in the balls,” the company wrote in its email. According to court filings, both sides settled before the trial, which had been scheduled for next month.
Speaking to PCMag, Cards Against Humanity explained the reasoning behind the settlement: “A trial would have cost more than what we were likely to win from SpaceX. Under Texas law, even if we had won at trial (and we would have, given their admission to trespassing), we likely wouldn’t have been able to recoup our legal fees. And SpaceX certainly seemed ready to dramatically outspend us on lawyers.”
During the case’s discovery phase, SpaceX acknowledged that it had neither requested nor received permission to use the land, according to Ars Technica. Following the legal confrontation, the company has now removed all construction equipment, allowing Cards Against Humanity to begin restoring the area. “The upside is that SpaceX has removed their construction equipment from our land and we’re able to work with a local landscaping company to restore the land to its natural state: devoid of space garbage and pointless border walls,” the company added.
Despite SpaceX’s expanding footprint near the Texas-Mexico border where it continues developing the Starship program aimed at Mars missions the company has faced recurring backlash from environmental organizations and even the Mexican government for its operations in the region.
While Cards Against Humanity initially intended to use any lawsuit proceeds to reimburse supporters who funded the 2017 protest land purchase, the settlement’s outcome prompted a different reward. Subscribers will instead receive a free “mini-pack of exclusive cards,” reportedly themed around Elon Musk and the entire SpaceX fiasco in true Cards Against Humanity fashion.