A fierce public feud between US President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has thrown the future of SpaceX’s multi-billion-dollar government contracts into jeopardy, with direct implications for NASA and international space cooperation.
The dispute began last week after Musk sharply criticized Trump’s tax and spending reforms. What started as political disagreement quickly spiraled into a high-stakes clash, with Trump threatening to terminate SpaceX’s federal contracts—estimated to be worth $22 billion. Musk responded by warning he could begin decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft, the only active US vehicle capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
“We will begin winding down Dragon operations,” Musk said in a post on X, intensifying fears of disruption to NASA missions.
NASA Caught in the Crossfire
Though NASA declined to comment directly on Musk’s remarks, press secretary Bethany Stevens said:
“We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president’s objectives in space are met.”
The ISS programme, a two-decade-long multinational collaboration involving dozens of countries, could face serious setbacks if Dragon is grounded. Analysts caution that while SpaceX is resilient, losing access to US government projects would lead to major revenue losses and missed opportunities.
“This wouldn’t be catastrophic for SpaceX, which has a global footprint, but it would certainly dent their dominance,” said Justus Parmar, CEO of Fortuna Investments, a major SpaceX stakeholder.
Tensions Over Budget and Space Policy
The feud is unfolding amid broader uncertainty in the US space sector. Trump’s administration recently proposed deep budget cuts to NASA, including canceling future Artemis moon missions beyond Artemis III. The Senate Commerce Committee, however, has countered with a bill to restore funding for Artemis IV and V, earmarking $1 billion annually for the more expensive SLS (Space Launch System) through 2029.
The tension highlights a strategic struggle between traditional NASA systems like SLS and SpaceX’s cost-effective rockets. Whether Trump fights the Senate’s revisions could reveal how much influence Musk still wields in US space policy.
A Feud with Global Consequences
SpaceX, once a symbol of bipartisan innovation, now finds itself at the heart of a political standoff. The outcome could affect not just Musk’s Mars ambitions but also NASA’s global partnerships and the US’s leadership in space exploration.
