Judge hands win to Elon Musk over controversial Texas wildlife refuge land swap

WorldEnvironment
22 Sep 2026 • 10:29 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Judge hands win to Elon Musk over controversial Texas wildlife refuge land swap

  • A federal judge declined to block a land exchange that grants SpaceX more than 700 acres of a federal wildlife refuge in South Texas.
  • Under the June agreement, SpaceX acquires public refuge acreage near its launch facility in exchange for handing over 683 acres of private land.
  • U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled that environmental groups failed to demonstrate the transaction would cause immediate ecological harm.
  • Conservationists and indigenous organizations pledged to press forward with their lawsuit, arguing the deal hands valuable public resources over to a private company.
  • The judge noted that issuing a preliminary injunction against the land transfer would disrupt SpaceX's operational schedules and contractual obligations.

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