The Space X company had to grapple with overbearing bureaucracy to convince US government agencies that its ships would not harm sharks and whales when they splash down in the ocean, CEO Elon Musk has revealed.
Speaking at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Musk recalled that the company had to undertake a study “to see if the Starship would hit a shark,” drawing a burst of laughter from the crowd.
“I’m like: “It’s a big ocean, there’s a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely,” he said, adding that he was willing to comply with the National Marine Fisheries’ requirements but on condition that they provide him with the relevant shark data for analysis.
However, according to Musk, the agency said that it could not provide the data. “And they said: ‘We could give the data to our Western division, but we don’t trust them’… Am I in a comedy sketch here?” the tycoon wondered aloud, adding that Space X later managed to get its hands on the relevant data after all, and was able to provide all the necessary assurances.
However, the saga did not end there, according to Musk, as the federal government found another cause for environmental concern. “‘Well, what about whales?’ When you look at the picture of the Pacific, what percentage of surface area do you see as ‘whale’? Honestly, if the ship did hit a whale, the whale had it coming, because the odds are so low,” he joked, adding that subsequent analysis found that “whales will be fine, too.”
“It’s just one crazy thing after another. I’m really feeling the pain of overregulation,” Musk lamented, pointing out that numerous government agencies have overlapping jurisdictions. “We’ve got to stop this madness. Because we won’t be able to get anything done.”
Earlier this month, Space X managed to catch its rapidly-descending Starship booster rocket during a test flight, a feat widely seen as a major step toward making the device fully reusable. The splashdown remains, however, a much more common and easily executed landing procedure.
Musk endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump following the apparent assassination attempt on the candidate in July, donating tens of millions of dollars to his campaign. Meanwhile, the ex-president promised to establish a Musk-led government efficiency commission to audit the entire federal government, if he is returned to the White House.