Elon Musk briefly threatened to mothball SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on Thursday, citing Donald Trump’s vow to axe government contracts with his companies.
Just hours later, Musk backpedalled after a user on X suggested he “cool off.” Musk replied: “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
The drama unfolded after Trump slammed Musk’s subsidies and contracts, claiming they should’ve been cut long ago.
Musk, once a major Trump donor and government adviser, didn’t take it lightly, lashing out on social media and accusing Trump of ingratitude.
For now, Dragon remains operational, which is good news for the International Space Station, currently hosting seven astronauts and reliant on the spacecraft for crew transport and cargo.
NASA, keeping diplomatic, reaffirmed its commitment to “the President’s vision for space”.
Whether this truce holds, or just marks a breather in a billionaire-political spat, is anyone’s guess. But for now, Dragon flies on.