Newly uncovered court records show SpaceX took money directly from Chinese investors, ProPublica reports

ProPublica reported on Thursday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX accepted money directly from Chinese investors, “raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of the United States’ most important military contractors.”

The nonprofit news outlet’s reporting is based on newly released court records that it obtained through successful litigation with free legal support from attorneys at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the law firm Shaw Keller LLP. A court in Delaware largely sided with ProPublica earlier this month after the newsroom challenged the secrecy surrounding court records filed in a legal dispute between SpaceX investors. 

The documents obtained by ProPublica following the newsroom’s legal victory included testimony from a SpaceX insider that revealed for the first time that Chinese investors directly invested in the company, which holds an estimated $22 billion in U.S. government contracts.

“It was previously reported that some Chinese investors had bought indirect stakes in SpaceX, investing in middleman funds that in turn owned shares in the rocket company,” ProPublica reported. “The new testimony describes direct investments that suggest a closer relationship with SpaceX.”

SpaceX did not respond to ProPublica’s requests for comment.

Attorneys from the Reporters Committee and Shaw Keller began representing ProPublica in April, not long after two of the newsroom’s reporters published an investigation about the corporate dispute in Delaware involving SpaceX investors. That story highlighted how SpaceX accepted money from Chinese investors “as long as the funds are routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore secrecy hubs.”

In an effort to better understand the financial relationship between SpaceX and its Chinese investors, ProPublica specifically sought to access records submitted to the court in the corporate dispute, including deposition transcripts, video clips, and trial exhibits that were either shown in open court or otherwise used to inform the court’s decision. 

On Sept. 15, J. Travis Laster, vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, largely ruled in favor of ProPublica, concluding that many of the submitted records identified by ProPublica should be made public. In addition to unsealing the records in the case involving SpaceX investors, the court’s ruling helped clarify its rules concerning how the public may access certain kinds of judicial records.

“This is a big win for transparency for ProPublica and for the public more broadly,” said Reporters Committee Senior Staff Attorney Lin Weeks, who helped litigate the case alongside RCFP Legal Fellow Matt Singer and attorneys from Shaw Keller. “Access to these records has already made it possible for ProPublica to continue to report groundbreaking stories to help the public better understand the financial ties of a powerful U.S. military contractor.”

Check out ProPublica’s story to learn more.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is the leading pro bono legal services provider for journalists and news organizations in the United States, offering direct legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our newsletters and following us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.