Cards Against Humanity has sued SpaceX for allegedly trespassing and damaging its property in Texas. The company behind the card game is seeking $15 million in damages, according to its lawsuit against SpaceX filed in Texas state court on Thursday, but has also stated that it will “accept Twitter.com as compensation.”
SpaceX has been using the “pristine, undeveloped property” in Cameron County, Texas, without a permit for about six months, the lawsuit says. Cards Against Humanity bought the property in 2017 as part of a stunt to “make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for [former President Donald] Trump to build his wall.” SpaceX has since acquired “many of the vacant lots” on the street surrounding Cards Against Humanity's property, the lawsuit says, and has begun “building large, modern-looking buildings, changing the entire dynamic of the area” — and damaging Cards Against Humanity's land in the process.
As part of the construction process, SpaceX removed vegetation, compacted the ground so employees and contractors could park, and set up generators to power equipment and lights. These actions, the lawsuit alleges, not only damaged the property but also damaged Cards Against Humanity's relationship with its customers.
Cards Against Humanity's purchase of the property in 2017 was a crowdfunding effort in which 150,000 backers contributed $15 each, the lawsuit says. This is indicative of the company's broader relationship with its customers and supporters. “Part of CAH's method of maintaining this supporter relationship — and the ongoing trust that they will continue to stand up against injustice — is the use of humorous 'pranks' or 'stunts' that draw attention to specific issues or people who ignore the rights and problems of ordinary people for their own personal gain or self-aggrandizement,” the lawsuit says. But SpaceX's alleged intrusion on Cards Against Humanity's property damaged the company's “most valuable asset in the form of its current and prospective future relationship” with its customers by “creating the impression that there is a connection between CAH and SpaceX.”
Other reports suggest that Cards Against Humanity is not the only neighbor with whom SpaceX has a problematic relationship. Reuterswhich first reported on the lawsuit, spoke to residents of Boca Chica – a small, remote village that SpaceX wanted to rename Starbase – who said SpaceX employees tore down a sign and removed a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe in town. One Boca Chica resident said Reuters that SpaceX had offered to buy both of her homes for $340,000.
Cards Against Humanity claims SpaceX also offered to buy land in Cameron County. “Elon Musk's SpaceX was building some space thing nearby and he thought he could just dump all his stuff on our beautiful property without asking,” the company wrote on a website announcing its lawsuit. “After we caught him, SpaceX gave us a 12-hour ultimatum to accept a low offer of less than half the value of our land. We said, 'Fuck you, Elon Musk. See you in court.'”