Texan construction workers put a rocket up Team SpaceX over 'unpaid bills'

https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/spacex_liens_texas/

by tocs3 • 2 years ago

74 30 2 years ago

Is it just me or is that headline impossible to parse? I have read it several times and still I have no idea what it is saying.

munificent• 2 years ago

"put a rocket up" is a completely weird phrase and the author clearly tried really hard to jam some rocket pun into the title but it just doesn't work.

tsegratis• 2 years ago

it's the kerosene on the bonfire equivalent of "step on the gas"

i.e. "seriously get SpaceX moving (hopefully at speed) on the issue of unpaid bills"

Doctor_Fegg• 2 years ago

It’s a British website using British idiom. Nothing weird about it at all.

frob2• 2 years ago

I think it's supposed to be a play on the word "racket." As in, "to put up a racket" or "make a racket" meaning make a bunch of noise.

I agree that it's horrendously written and really forced.

ojbyrne• 2 years ago

I would guess that I less safe for work domains, putting something (phallic) up is usually followed by a name for an orifice.

gamepsys• 2 years ago

Even after reading the article I'm not sure what the headline means. It seems to be some sort of a debt dispute (unpaid contractors). Is the rocket put up as collateral on the lien? Are the contractors refusing to hand over the physical rocket to SpaceX until they are paid?

raimondious• 2 years ago

Not just you… Seems like it might be a Britishism? I think it’s saying something like “construction workers light up SpaceX”, like say bad things about them?

wiedelphine• 2 years ago

It is a british phrase. I think the most commmon usage is 'put a rocket up their arse, or 'put a rocket under them; It's similar to 'light a fire under'. It means to suggest getting somebody who has been previously sluggish in acting, to act quicker.

owlbite• 2 years ago

Yeah, definitely a common phrase in the UK, basically the sense is that if you put a (firework) rocket up someone's behind and light it, they're going to move pretty damn fast to rectify the situation before the fuse runs out.

ianburrell2• 2 years ago

The Register is known to make funny, confusing headlines.

I think I found the definition of rocket that makes sense: "(UK slang, originally military) A severe reprimand; a telling-off. [from 20th c.]."

The decoded headline would be: Texas construction workers tell off SpaceX. Or just Texas construction workers place lien on SpaceX.

trilbyglens• 2 years ago

I deeply hate the modern trend if "clever" headline writing. A headline with a shitty pun or work joke gets an instant skip from me. Might as well label your media outlet as satire for all I'm going to trust you.

sparrish• 2 years ago

What does 'put a rocket up' mean in that headline?

ianburrell2• 2 years ago

Wiktionary has UK slang definition of rocket of "A severe reprimand; a telling-off."

I found quotes for "put a rocket up" that suggest it is UK slang. And pretty common since BBC has article for "How women students put a rocket up Cambridge".

tocs3• 2 years ago

Sort of "Poke with a stick". Some contractors are filing leans against SpaceX assets in hopes of getting money owed.

nozzlegear• 2 years ago

I assumed it meant "put a rocket up their ass", a clever SpaceX-themed play on the phrase "put a boot up/in their ass".

annacappa• 2 years ago

For the confused about the headline here is another article that explains the concept

https://www.theregister.com/2012/07/31/firework_up_bottom_to...

slater• 2 years ago

(May 14)

josefritzishere• 2 years ago

Lets not forget they are repeat offenders for the illegal dumping in California and Texas. https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacex-violated-the-clean-water-... https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorial/article/spacex...

thegrim33• 2 years ago

- "repeat offenders for illegal dumping"

reads the first link provided

Summarizing the entire article, SpaceX's Boca Chica facility has permits for "domestic wastewater reuse authorization" and "two construction stormwater general permits", but, they apparently don't have a "permit for stormwater discharges."

Not a single word about "illegal dumping". Not a single word about anything that actually happened. Not a single word about anything bad being dumped. The entire article is about SpaceX allegedly not having applied for a specific permit related to stormwater discharge. That's it.

JumpCrisscross• 2 years ago

Original source is clearer: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musks-spacex-is-qui...

bryanlarsen• 2 years ago

Playing stupid games with accounts payable is standard big corporation bullshit. It is so refreshing to work with corporations that don't play those games, although they are the exception rather than the norm.

njovin• 2 years ago

This is so true. I worked for a company that demanded NET90 payment terms from all vendors and frequently wouldn't even begin processing the invoice until 90 days, resulting in the contractor getting paid closer to 100-120 days. They'd also flat-out refuse to pay any sort of late fee or penalty.

abduhl• 2 years ago

These aren't stupid games. Musk-affiliated companies regularly just refuse to pay. They don't pay late -- they don't pay. Their response to requests for payment are eventually met with "fuck you, sue us" after being given the run-around for months.

Source: SpaceX stiffed my prior company for a middling amount of money for engineering services.

bamboozled• 2 years ago

You’re just part of the plan to build a utopia on mars. Need to crack a few eggs to make an omelette according to the white man.

euroderf• 2 years ago

Master Donald has taught them well.

sebazzz• 2 years ago

It is just as annoying for the employees purchasing from the vendor. Constantly needing to apologise for the invoices not being paid on time, constantly needing to ping accounts payable to check what the status is (otherwise it is just a black hole you forward the invoice to).

msie• 2 years ago

So, Tesla is hiring back some of the Supercharger team that they fired. How convenient after Elon Musk's payout. Make bold moves and then oops, claw some of them back.

Texan construction workers put a rocket up Team SpaceX over 'unpaid bills'

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