Elon Musk just scored a major victory after the country’s top labor regulator dropped its case against SpaceX for firing eight employees.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sent a letter this month to attorneys representing the fired workers, saying it was dismissing the case because of a jurisdictional issue, Bloomberg reports.

The dispute began in 2022, when a group of SpaceX employees circulated an open letter urging the company to distance itself from Musk’s behavior on social media. Soon, the employees were fired. In 2024, the NLRB issued a formal complaint against the rocket company, alleging that the terminations were retaliatory and violated workers’ rights to engage in protected collective activity.

But now, the board has concluded that SpaceX fell outside its jurisdiction. In its letter this month, the NLRB sided with SpaceX’s argument that the company is not subject to the agency’s authority.

“Accordingly, the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge,” Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency, wrote in the letter obtained by Bloomberg.

The labor board cited a recent opinion issued by the National Mediation Board (NMB), which determined that SpaceX engineers are subject to its jurisdiction.

This difference makes a big difference. Under federal law, workers covered by the NLRB have broad rights to organize and participate in collective action, unionized or not. Workers under the NMB operate under a different law that offers narrower protections.

The NMB oversees railroad and airline companies, while the NLRB covers most other private sector employers. SpaceX argues that it falls under the NMB’s jurisdiction because it allows customers to book space travel like an airplane if you squint too hard. The fired employees disputed this claim, pointing out that SpaceX does not operate like a traditional airline and its flights are not open to the public. In addition, the NMB currently has no authority over companies that provide commercial space travel.

Still, the dismissal is a significant development in Musk’s broader fight against federal regulators. SpaceX previously challenged the NLRB’s authority, arguing that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional.

The decision comes as Musk, an off-and-on ally of President Donald Trump who contributed millions to his presidential campaign, has repeatedly tried to influence Washington. After the election, Musk took the lead now-no more The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is pushing for cuts in many federal agencies. Meanwhile, the administration is slowly filling the roles of regulatory bodies that oversee Musk’s companies, including the NLRB and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

And Musk isn’t the only billionaire who has sided with Trump while fighting efforts to organize his companies. Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos, also argues that the structure of the NLRB is unconstitutionalbecause the retail giant failed to sign contracts with workers who voted in UNIONS.

Bezos’ closeness to Trump has also been on display recently. Amazon MGM reportedly paid about $40 million for the rights to a documentary about the life of First Lady Melania Trump and then spent $35 million on marketing. And last week, Bezos welcomed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the headquarters of Blue Origin, a business whose future depends heavily on government contracts.

For their part, eight former SpaceX employees continue to pursue harassment and retaliation claims related to their firing in a separate lawsuit filed in California.

SpaceX and the NLRB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo.