Athira Sethu
Kochi, 6 June 2025
SpaceX, the privately owned space venture of Elon Musk, is in jeopardy of losing up to $22 billion in government contracts as a result of an intensifying public feud between Musk and former President Donald Trump. The dispute started when Musk denounced Trump’s tax and spending policies, and Trump retaliated with tirades against Musk.
As a countermove, Musk promised to “decommission” SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which NASA has used to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) under a $5 billion contract.
The Dragon spacecraft is vital to NASA’s space missions, as it’s the sole U.S. spacecraft that can transport astronauts to and from the ISS. If Musk were to follow through with his ultimatum, it might throw NASA’s mission and its collaborative effort with other nations in the ISS program into disarray. This endeavor has been going on for more than 20 years. NASA presently uses Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft as a fall-back, but SpaceX has been critical to the U.S. space programme over the last several years.
This rivalry between Trump and Musk has also created fears regarding how far Trump will go to sanction Musk for scorning him. If Trump terminates SpaceX’s contracts with NASA and the Pentagon, it would retard U.S. space advancements. But NASA said it will keep engaging the industry partners to fulfill the president’s vision for exploration of space, without directly addressing SpaceX.
Prior to the feud, Musk and Trump enjoyed close cooperation. Musk was instrumental in Trump’s space program, including plans to send people to Mars and construct a missile defense shield in space. SpaceX had also gained from Trump’s policies, such as the plan to redirect NASA’s moon program to Mars and other initiatives that benefited the company. But the fight has now threatened this cooperation.
Even in the event of some losses for SpaceX, the company’s market position could protect it from ruin. SpaceX is a giant in the space business, with billions of dollars’ worth of contracts from the U.S. military and NASA. The company has created the Falcon 9 rocket, which launches satellites and supplies the ISS, as well as the Starship, a rocket to take astronauts to the moon and to Mars.
Even though the public feud may impact SpaceX financially, the firm is expected to retain its influence within the industry, according to analysts. The incident, however, raises the issue of how the two are conflicting with Musk’s business and political activity, which will potentially have long-term implications for both.
