We contacted the FCC and will update this article if it provides a response.
The plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction said the FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, “acted favorably on several Starlink initiatives” while Musk and DOGE exerted influence within the agency. That includes “open[ing] an investigation against SpaceX competitor EchoStar,” which holds licenses for spectrum that SpaceX wants, and “approv[ing] a waiver for SpaceX to provide satellite service directly from orbit to smartphones, over the objection of cell network providers who say this move will worsen mobile network service for many.”
The motion said:
The Plaintiffs seek information concerning DOGE’s activities within the FCC and especially documents concerning FCC contacts with Elon Musk, SpaceX, Starlink or other entities associated with Musk and his various enterprises. DOGE’s operations within the FCC are at the heart of a debate concerning potential conflicts of interest between, Elon Musk and DOGE as regulators of the FCC, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, including Starlink, as a regulated entity seeking licenses and other accommodations from the agency.
The FCC granted a request for expedited processing on March 4, but then “failed to timely process the Plaintiffs’ request” for documents, the filing said.
DOGE employee with Musk ties
The filing raised concerns about Tarak Makecha, a former Tesla employee who has worked for DOGE and is still listed in the FCC directory. “On a form letter, Makecha is listed as a ‘Software Engineer,'” but “his background is in finance, not software engineering… no resume, curriculum vitae, or any similar background information was provided by the Commission for Makecha even though that is required as part of the onboarding and clearance process,” the filing said.
According to the filing, Makecha owned between $50,000 and $100,000 in Tesla stock as of March 20 and now works as a vice president at Valor Equity Partners, which “has a close relationship with Elon Musk and his companies.” Valor “sells shares to investors in Musk’s private companies—particularly SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company,” the filing said.