Texas environmental network plans to protest SpaceX analyst meetings

By Ross Kerber and Echo ‌Wang

April 20 (Reuters) - Environmental activists ​plan ​to protest outside SpaceX's Starbase launch facilities on Tuesday ahead of the highly anticipated IPO of Elon Musk's company, pressuring big public pension funds to avoid ‌the deal due to worries about pollution from rocket launches and safety ⁠issues.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network said its members plan to protest outside the facility's main entrance on Tuesday ‌as SpaceX kicks off three days ‌of tours and meetings with Wall Street stock analysts.

Network co-founder Bekah Hinojosa said she is urging investors to boycott the IPO and has lobbied the office of New York ​City Comptroller Mark Levine against buying the company's shares for the city's pension plans.

The company's rocket launches from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas have caused Hinojosa's apartment ⁠in nearby Brownsville to shake. Hinojosa said she is also worried that the flames emitted by the rockets could set off ​fires in the dry South Texas landscape.

"It doesn’t feel great to feel like we’re being bombed by Elon Musk,” Hinojosa said in an interview ​on Monday.

She added that she has had several conversations ‌with Levine's office about SpaceX. A representative for the comptroller declined to comment.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hinojosa's concerns underscore a quandary ⁠facing potential shareholders in what could be the biggest IPO in history.

Shareholders, especially public-sector pension fund leaders in Democratic-leaning states, often promote conservation concerns. They also have spent years arguing unsuccessfully that Musk needs ⁠more oversight at the helm of his carmaker Tesla and the X social-media platform.

Yet now some of the ​same funds may back Musk's next venture, either by buying directly into the IPO or if and when the company is added to indexes that guide their investments.

SpaceX began launches from Starbase in 2019 and ‌it has become the manufacturing center for the company's Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy Booster rocket.

The success has been accompanied by challenges at ‌the site, including a 2023 launch explosion that sent a cloud of pulverized concrete over a small ⁠town nearby, and started a ground fire. ‌The company has since upgraded ​its launch pad with a water-cooling system, though it faced concerns about its permit for the process.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Edited by Dawn Kopecki and ‌David Gregorio)

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