Elon Musk vs Trump Feud Puts $22 Billion SpaceX US Contracts at Risk

If the feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump ends in disagreements, close to $22 billion of SpaceX’s public contracts, as well as US space programmes, could suffer.

Musk’s criticism of the tax-cut and spending bill Trump brought up last week is what begun their conflict and things soon got out of hand. Trump made fun of Musk when he appeared in the Oval Office. Musk took offense to Trump’s comments and publicly sparred with him. As a response, Trump said that he might pull government contracts from Musk’s companies.

• Elon Musk and Donald Trump clashed over tax and spending policies, risking $22B in government contracts for SpaceX.
• Musk threatened to decommission Crew Dragon, a key NASA vehicle for ISS missions, in response to Trump’s remarks.
• Trump aims to cut future Artemis moon missions, while Senate support for SLS may signal declining influence for Musk.

Musk responded to the possible threat by stating that he would start processing the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft used by NASA for decommissioning. Since only the Crew Dragon can transport US astronauts to and from the International Space Station, Musk’s company is a major part of the US space program.

Suspending the Dragon would very likely interrupt the ISS program, since it is managed by many nations under a long-standing international deal. It was not clear how soon this decommissioning process would happen. NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens declined to comment on SpaceX, but said: “We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met.”

Also Read: Elon Musk Exits Trump Administration After Clashing Over Budget

SpaceX rose to dominance long before Musk's foray into Republican politics last year, building a formidable market share that could shield it somewhat from Musk's split with Trump, analysts said. "It fortunately wouldn't be catastrophic, since SpaceX has developed itself into a global powerhouse, but there's no question that it would result in significant lost revenue and missed contract opportunities," said Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments.

Over the past few months, Trump has suggested layoffs and had plans to cancel many science programs at NASA, as its 18,000 workers and the agency wait for a new director to be named since its earlier director was removed. Among Trump’s plans for space, the quest to send people to Mars by Musk is very important. As a result of these efforts, NASA’s major goal to return people to the moon could be put at risk.

Trump’s plan was to away with any further Artemis missions after their third scheduled launch. Still, the Commerce Committee’s version of Trump’s bill which came out late Thursday, restores support for missions four and five and commits $1 billion per year to SLS through 2029. Since SpaceX’s rockets are an affordable substitute for SLS, if the Trump administration disapproves of the changes as proposed by the Senate, it will show that Musk is losing his influence.