SpaceX isn’t funded by taxpayers anymore than Amazon is (for JEDI) or the local gas station that sells fuel to federal fleet vehicles. Just because the government is a customer doesn’t put it in the “funded by taxpayers’” camp in the sense that the public has any say in the company.

There is a difference between winning (over other private companies) government contracts to provide a service and being “funded by taxpayers money”

Not much in niche industries like this.

They’re built to serve government. Any extra customers they get is just the icing.

> it's funded by taxpayers' money,

Its getting taxpayers money because the official money hole called the NASA can't manage to launch anything in space anymore.

So in your Mad Max fantasy wonderland you wouldn't complain if, say, you were trapped in a wooden shipping crate and the the crate was firebombed.

> it's not out there competing in the free market...

Tell that to Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance. They’d love to know. . .

That's a fair point. But I'd say that then the issue is decided by the voters and our elected representatives - if we wanted, we could get the government to cancel their contracts if Musk does something really terrible (not saying it would be easy). I'd prefer it be done that way rather than internal activists pushing their own beliefs onto the company unilaterally and disrupting operations - that's one way we can be SURE our tax dollars would be wasted.

> it's not out there competing in the free market...

Um. They are. SpaceX had almost as many commercial launches as gov ones last year.

If you own a gas station and a copy fills up, are you "funded" by tax payer dollars?

false, spacex is a contractor with bounding contracts, who cares which organization spend the money. The contract matter, if you want to argue, there is starliner to criticize