The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has a panel of judges which hear cases brought against companies over workers' rights. One such complaint lodged in December against SpaceX is being sent there for adjudication - however SpaceX argues that they're essentially a rogue agency.

The U.S. Constitution requires the president to have "sufficient control" over the judges, and an appeals court concluded in 2022 that administrative law judges (ALJs) in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are unconstitutionally shielded from presidential oversight.

"The same reasoning applies to the ALJs of the NLRB, including the ALJ assigned to preside over the pending NLRB proceedings against SpaceX," SpaceX said in the Jan. 4 suit.

The company is asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to rule that the current makeup of the NLRB is unconstitutional. -The Epoch Times

"To prevent SpaceX from undergoing protracted administrative proceedings before an unconstitutionally structured agency—after which SpaceX is unlikely to have a chance to secure meaningful retrospective relief—the court should stay or enjoin the current agency proceedings, declare that the NLRB's structure violates the separation of powers under Article II of the Constitution, and permanently enjoin the NLRB and its general counsel from pursuing unfair labor practice charges against SpaceX before agency officials that are unconstitutionally insulated from presidential oversight, " reads the filing, which also claims that the NLRB's five-member board is structured improperly, and is the "very definition of tyranny." 

US District Judge Rolando Olvera, an Obama appointee, was assigned to the case after the NLRB accused SpaceX of violating federal law by firing workers who spoke out against the company's practices.

In a 2022 open letter to management, workers complained about Musk's posts on Twitter, calling them "a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us," and complained that it should be made clear that "his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values."