Elon Musk's SpaceX Reportedly Fails To Pay $70,000 Restaurant Tab Leaving Blue-Collar Owner Unpaid

Napa chef Darryl Bell says Elon Musk's SpaceX had not paid approximately $70,000 (£52,864) for two employee dinners in Palo Alto, California. He told the San Francisco Chronicle the invoices remained outstanding on 9 October 2026, leaving him unable to pay staff.

Bell had hoped to cater six monthly dinners for around 425 SpaceX employees at each event. Only two took place, in July and August, before the remaining bookings were postponed.

The dispute is not based solely on Bell's account. In an email dated 2 October, reviewed by the Chronicle, SpaceX acknowledged that Stateline Road Smokehouse was past its agreed payment deadline.

SpaceX did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment. The available reporting does not establish any personal involvement by Musk in the bookings or payment decisions.

How Elon Musk's SpaceX Catering Deal Became a Financial Strain

Bell, who owns Stateline Road Smokehouse in Napa, said the company contacted him in the spring about catering dinners from July through December. The potential series offered a way to expand his restaurant's large-event business.

Each dinner cost just over $35,000 (£26,432). Bell said he verbally accepted payment within 30 days, without signing a written contract specifying those terms.

Normally, he requires a 50% deposit for events involving more than 100 guests. He said he waived that safeguard because he believed a company of SpaceX's size would follow its payment procedures.

The restaurant then spent around $7,000 (£5,286) on additional equipment, including serving carts and food trays. Bell expected the investment to be recovered across the planned events rather than through the first dinner alone.

Preparing and serving the meals also demanded extra labour. Several employees worked 14-hour shifts on scheduled days off, Bell said. His team underwent security checks and signed a non-disclosure agreement before working at the campus.

The dinners took place on 29 July and 26 August. Bell said both went well, but questions emerged when he asked about the first invoice, for $35,885 (£27,100), after the August service.

He said he received no clear payment update. Through September, he repeatedly followed up, sometimes being redirected to another contact or asked to resubmit paperwork.

For Bell, the delay affected money already spent on ingredients, equipment and labour. He had calculated that the first two dinners would roughly cover costs, with later events providing profit.

Elon Musk's SpaceX Acknowledged the Overdue Invoices

On 17 September, Bell left a voicemail for a senior SpaceX accountant and raised the possibility of consulting a lawyer. He said an accountant called back and told him payment had been initiated.

A SpaceX chef also contacted Bell about the remaining events. In a message reviewed by the Chronicle, the chef said the mention of legal action had been perceived as a threat.

The later dinners were postponed while the payment issue remained unresolved. That sequence does not, by itself, establish unlawful retaliation or explain why the invoices had gone unpaid.

Bell asked whether his team could still cater the planned 30 September event, having already begun preparations. He said he received no reply.

The 2 October email provided an unusually direct acknowledgement of the problem. SpaceX wrote that Stateline had 'not been paid yet and is past their payment terms', according to the Chronicle.

It offered no independently verified explanation for the delay. Nor did the reporting establish that Musk approved, rejected or even knew about the invoices.

On 9 October, after the Chronicle sought comment from SpaceX again, Bell said an accountant called to assure him another payment was being processed. He said it was the third such assurance and no money had reached his account.

Bell contrasted the sum with SpaceX's reported $2 trillion (€1.79 trillion and £1.51 trillion) market valuation. 'That's not even a penny for them,' he told the newspaper. A corporate valuation, however, does not explain the status of an individual invoice.

He said he could not pay employees who worked the dinners and had struggled to meet supplier bills on time. Equipment bought for the planned series remained without a comparable catering job to justify its cost.

Whether SpaceX has paid the invoices since Bell's 9 October account has not been independently confirmed.