① Elon Musk accused U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy of “attempting to kill NASA” and attacked him with vulgar language; ② Duffy previously stated that Musk’s SpaceX was “behind” the timeline of the U.S. “Artemis” lunar landing program, and NASA would reopen the relevant contracts to give other companies the opportunity to participate.
The conflict between Elon Musk and Trump administration Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has escalated again, with the billionaire accusing Duffy on social media of “attempting to strangle NASA” and launching a vulgar attack.
Currently, Duffy also serves as the acting administrator of NASA, a position that will expire at the end of this year.
In an interview on Monday (October 20), Duffy stated that Musk's SpaceX is "behind" the timeline of the US "Artemis" lunar landing program, and NASA will reopen the relevant contracts to give other companies the opportunity to participate.
“We won’t just wait for one company’s progress,” Duffy said at the time. “We want to move the project forward, win the second space race, return to the moon, establish camps and bases, and then study how to get to Mars.”
In response to Duffy's remarks, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a series of sarcastic comments on the social media platform X, calling Duffy "Sean Dummy" and accusing him of "attempting to kill NASA."
The accusation of “attempting to kill NASA” stemmed from a report that Duffy planned to merge NASA into the Department of Transportation. Musk and some users on the X platform believe this move would signify the end of American space dominance.
A NASA press secretary revealed that Duffy did mention the idea of NASA becoming a cabinet agency (such as merging into the Department of Transportation), and said that such a move might "benefit" NASA.
Musk also wrote, "The people in charge of the US space program can't have IQs in the double digits." ("If NASA were given people with IQs below triple digits, America would be finished.")
Since Trump's return to the White House, Musk has been pushing his close ally Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator. However, in June of this year, after Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump withdrew Isaacman's nomination.
Some analysts believe that financial markets are worried about a repeat of the "rupture" between Musk and Trump. Earlier this year, Musk fiercely criticized the "Big and Beautiful" bill and threatened to create a third party. These conflicts have led to Tesla's... The stock price plummeted by more than 14% on June 5.
In addition, Musk's excessive focus on SpaceX may have angered Tesla shareholders, who would prefer him to concentrate on electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and other related businesses.
(Article source: CLS)
