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Bezos snubbed Musk’s SpaceX for huge satellite launch contract, Amazon shareholder says



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Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, left, and Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.Getty ImagesAn Amazon shareholder lawsuit says the company snubbed SpaceX for valuable satellite launch contracts because of Jeff Bezos’ personal rivalry with Elon Musk, who has taunted his fellow billionaire’s space ambitions for years.Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, or CB&T, filed a shareholder complaint on behalf of Amazon in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday.The pension fund’s lawsuit centers around Amazon’s blockbuster purchase of rocket launches for its Project Kuiper satellite internet system. The suit emphasizes the rivalry between Bezos and Musk, featuring screenshots of the SpaceX and Tesla chief’s social media taunts about the Amazon founder’s space efforts at the e-commerce giant and his space company, Blue Origin. Last year, Amazon announced what it called the biggest rocket deal in the commercial space industry’s history, signing launch contracts with United Launch Alliance (ULA), Arianespace, and Bezos’ Blue Origin. In its May annual shareholders meeting, Amazon disclosed it expects to pay about $7.4 billion for launch services through 2028, with $2.7 billion expected to go to Bezos’ wholly owned Blue Origin.CB&T alleges that Bezos, Amazon’s executive chair – as well as CEO Andy Jassy and members of the company’s board of directors who also serve on its a …

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