Trump-Musk clash threatens to ground US space ambitions
US president’s threat to pull Musk contracts casts a shadow over critical Nasa, Pentagon and commercial space initiatives
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Musk said he would decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which ferries cargo and people to the International Space Station for the US. SpaceX, the world’s most prolific rocket launcher, also holds billions of dollars in contracts to loft critical national security satellites for the Pentagon and develop a spacecraft to put American astronauts on the moon in as little as two years.
The decision was prompted by Trump’s threat to tear up all federal contracts with Musk, which risks a crucial revenue source for SpaceX. It was the latest in a tit-for-tat exchange between the two men after Musk officially exited his role in the US government and railed against two of Trump’s most important pillars of his presidency: his tax bill and tariffs.
While Musk dumped on Trump on X, his social media site, the president hit back in an Oval Office meeting with the German chancellor and a series of posts on his own site, Truth Social.
The question now was whether either of the men would follow through with their threats. Musk did appear to walk back his threat later Thursday night when he responded to a follower’s post suggesting he take a step back and cool off for a couple of days, with: “Good advice. OK, we won’t decommission Dragon”.