Elon Musk and his space companies have had a busy month.

Last week, SpaceX successfully tested a 400-foot rocket catching tower that enabled one of its Starship spacecraft to land in precisely the spot from which it was launched. As the AP reported and Musk boasted on X, this innovation will allow for quick landings and launches, which in turn will allow far more shuttles to be sent to space and a regular route back and forth from satellites. This could even facilitate future colonies from Earth to Mars—a huge breakthrough in expediting space travel and making it less costly.

SpaceX also recently assisted NASA by launching a shuttle on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Because Europa has water, there is a possibility that life might exist there. This will be confirmed six years from now when the spacecraft finally reaches Jupiter’s orbit.

And last month,  another Musk company, Starlink, came to the aid of affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, offering free internet service that is beamed down from satellites placed there by SpaceX. Musk has promised free ongoing service for the rest of the year as these victims recover from that epic devastation.

But, as The Federalist’scorrespondent Tristan Justice explains, none of these accomplishments matter because Elon Musk supports Donald Trump.

Just as Musk and his companies have been performing miracles to advance to human race, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) “voted on Oct. 10 to deny Musk’s SpaceX its request to make 50 rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.”

Although Musk can ignore this decision at the risk of being sued, it is clear that the intention behind it was to inhibit Musk’s activities and reduce his fame.

Despite the recommendations of the U.S. Air Force, the commissioners denying Musk’s request were repelled by his conservative politics: “We’re dealing with a company that the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is.” In other words, Musk is endorsing the wrong person and therefore must be stopped.

While the vote is a clear violation of Musk’s freedom of speech and comes from a place of utter pettiness, we would do well to consider the commissioners’ line of reasoning. They argue that a vote in support of permitting SpaceX to perform more launches requires an overt endorsement of Musk’s political activities.

Something similar is at work when the government claims to be working with nonprofit organizations, particularly Christian ones. If the federal government pays a Catholic nonprofit to service incoming immigrants from Mexico, those involved need to make it clear that the contract is awarded on the basis of merit, not political affiliation. This is why most NGOs, and even most churches, avoid making overt political statements and do not openly endorse political parties.

When granting official permission for operations or approving a contract with private businesses, the same apolitical, meritocratic logic is supposed to apply. This process has long since degenerated, of course, and amounts to little more than crony capitalism pretending to be something else. It’s now common for large companies to be awarded or denied contracts with the government on the basis of their support of a political party, albeit this support is not always explicit.

This means that businesses with inferior products and services often win billion-dollar contracts because, in addition to their potential to offer politicians lucrative board positions, their campaign donations, lobbying activities, and political stances (e.g., implementing DEI hiring requirements, supporting BLM, or funding environmentalist programs) are compatible with the government’s ideology.

Musk is no stranger to this rigged game. Even before his endorsement of Trump, Musk had lost many lucrative contracts to his better connected rivals. One obvious example of this unfairness was recently illustrated by the government’s preferred corporation Boeing leaving two astronauts stranded in space because its new shuttle malfunctioned. After so much dithering and stalling, NASA finally asked SpaceX to save the astronauts.

To be clear, Boeing was paid at least $1.6 billion more than SpaceX was in this endeavor. In all likelihood, Boeing will continue to have huge contracts with NASA despite its failure because it is diverse, progressive, and more than happy to give board positions to politicians like Nikki Haley. Meanwhile, SpaceX will be denied permission to launch their rockets because it does not do these things.

As irritating as this situation is, it also points to the way forward for restoring America’s technological supremacy and global leadership. The story of Musk demonstrates that Americans need a government that rewards excellence and condemns mediocrity. As it stands, the American government has embraced the worst elements of both capitalism and socialism, using taxpayer funding to patronize private businesses for political reasons instead of doing what’s best for the people.

It’s to Musk’s great credit that he has taken the path less traveled. He could have done what nearly every other billionaire has done and played the game, paying off the right people and signaling his commitment to progressive causes. Instead, he is beating his opponents fair and square, speaking out against the hypocrisy, and donning a MAGA cap. Whether they personally like Musk or not, Americans who love their country should consider doing the same.