Cards Against Humanity, an irreverent party game company known for its provocative humor, filed a trespass lawsuit against SpaceX and settled a year after launching a profane marketing campaign against Elon Musk’s rocket company.
The dispute centered on land along the Rio Grande in Cameron County, Texas, that Cards Against Humanity purchased in 2017. The company crowdfunded the purchase through 150,000 individual $15 donations (totaling $2.25 million) from supporters who wanted to help stop President Donald Trump’s border wall.
The land happens to be right next to where SpaceX is building its Starbase rocket complex, the launch facility for its spacecraft. This became an issue in 2024 when Cards Against Humanity accused SpaceX of trespassing on its property and dumping construction equipment and materials. (Lawyers for SpaceX and the rocket company did not respond to requests for comment.)
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Cards Against Humanity is seeking $15 million and has said it would pay out up to $100 of the proceeds to supporters who helped fund the land. But those supporters don’t receive cash. Instead, you can sign up for a “brand new mini-pack with exclusive cards about Elon Musk,” a special expansion of the popular party game, according to an email you just received.
“So while we can’t give you what you really wanted: cash from Elon Musk, we’re going to make up for it with comedy for you, our best and sexiest customer!” The company said in an email sent Monday, referring to the new mini-packs of cards.
“We’re happy to stand up to bullies like Musk. We’re happy to force a settlement,” Cards Against Humanity told TechCrunch in a statement. The company said SpaceX is removing construction equipment and Cards Against Humanity is “committed to restoring[the land]to its natural state, free of space debris and nonsensical border walls.”
“Unfortunately, an even richer, more racist billionaire, Elon Musk, has snuck up on us from behind and obliterated your land with gravel, tractors, and space junk,” Cards Against Humanity said in an email to supporters last year. He has also launched a website titled “www.ElonOwesYou100Dollars.com.”
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Cards Against Humanity said at the time that its “longstanding reputation as a company that makes outrageous promises and actually keeps them is at stake.” But he also warned supporters in an email that “Mr. Musk has far more money and lawyers than we do, so he will likely receive the highest amount, probably around $2.00.”
Now they won’t even receive that amount.
The case moved quickly. Both sides had already gone through the discovery process, in which both sides exchanged evidence before trial, which was scheduled for November. Cards Against Humanity told TechCrunch on Monday that SpaceX even admitted to trespassing upon discovery, which the gaming company called “a real justification.”
Cards Against Humanity said Monday that it is “ready to go to trial and are confident we will prevail.” But the company ultimately determined that the test would “cost more than the amount likely to be obtained from SpaceX.”
“Under Texas law, we likely won’t be able to recover our legal costs. We had the truth, but Musk and SpaceX could easily outspend us,” the company said.
Mr. Musk is well known for his willingness to take on his enemies and his company’s enemies in court. He once claimed that Tesla’s “hardcore litigation department” would “never surrender or settle the unfair lawsuits against us, even if we lose.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Musk and his company often reconcile. This is not the first card incident against humanity this year. Earlier this month, X settled a complaint filed by former Twitter executives. Tesla has settled numerous Autopilot-related lawsuits. The Autopilot case, which Tesla had the opportunity to settle but did not, became one of the most high-profile litigation losses of all time.
