Elon Musk, President Trump in SpaceX Spat

America's Manned Space Program Could Hang in the Balance

Commentary from The Journal of Space Commerce

Well, that went sour faster than a Hollywood marriage.

The world's richest person and the President of the United States are having an online spat like two teenagers sitting in their moms’ basements. It just isn't pretty.

"In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately."
Elon Musk, SpaceX

What started as a political argument over the "Big Beautiful Bill" has escalated into a threat to America's manned space program. Since Musk criticized the reconciliation bill on X saying it didn't cut the deficit, Trump fired back on Truth Social, saying "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!"

Trump continued "I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Musk posted on X "In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately."

Really?

Politics aside, this is a high-stakes game of chicken that could seriously damage America's manned space program. Dragon is currently the only human-rated spacecraft launching from American soil, and it's a fair bet that NASA has no interest in going back to depending on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for transportation to and from the International Space Station. That would be akin to trading in your Ferrari for a Zil, and the American taxpayers would bear the brunt. Meanwhile, the Boeing Starliner program remains in limbo, with no future manned test flights currently planned.

Dragon is also a critical cargo vessel carrying supplies to the station.

We feel like this is absolutely not the time or place for these two very wealthy and powerful men to be playing this kind of game. Both need to take a step back, and a deep breath, and consider what is best for the country. A goal which both have claimed to champion. Nor is it good for the industry to have these kinds of (hopefully) ridiculous threats thrown around. Nobody likes to see grown men shrieking "I'll just take my toys and go home" at one another across the Internet.

So to both President Trump and Elon Musk, we say "Grow Up!" This is the kind of ridiculous sideshow that is not good for anyone right now, other than an opposition party which is popping its popcorn and getting ready to sit back and enjoy the show.

There's an old saying that the first law of holes is: "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." It's time for both of these men to do just that.

That’s our opinion. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.