There has been a fair share of name-calling and pettiness in the upper echelons of America’s space leadership this week, with Elon Musk taking aim at acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on X. The spat erupted after Duffy suggested SpaceX was falling behind on the Artemis lunar programme and would open contracts to rivals, including Blue Origin. The row also recalls earlier tensions when President Trump withdrew Musk ally Jared Isaacman ’s nomination to lead NASA, following the well-publicised fallout between Musk and Trump.
What happened: Elon Musk’s online clash with NASA chief Sean Duffy
Elon Musk’s simmering tensions with the Trump administration reignited this week after the billionaire launched a furious online tirade at U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. The exchange erupted on Tuesday when Musk accused Duffy of “trying to kill NASA,” moments after the cabinet official suggested that SpaceX was falling behind on the U.S. mission to return humans to the Moon.
The clash followed Duffy’s comments on CNBC a day earlier, where he said Musk’s rocket company was lagging behind the government’s schedule for the Artemis programme, the ambitious effort to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Duffy added that he intended to open the $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to other bidders, including Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” he said. “We’re going to push this forward and win the second space race against the Chinese. Get back to the moon, set up a camp, a base.”
Musk, never one to hold back on his platform X, first replied to Duffy’s post with a with a GIF of a famous exchange in which an African anchor asked a guest, “Why are you gay?” before escalating further. “Sean Dummy,” he wrote in another post, accusing Duffy of “trying to kill NASA.”
In response to Duffy’s remarks about opening up contracts to competitors, Musk took a swipe at Bezos’s company, posting, “Blue Origin has never delivered a payload to orbit, let alone the Moon.”
In a separate message, he added: “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ.” He also mocked Duffy’s past as a competitive tree climber, posting a poll asking, “Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?”
Duffy avoided responding to Musk’s personal attacks directly but addressed the broader criticism later that day. “Love the passion,” he posted on X. “The race to the moon is ON. Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge. When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
The outburst capped months of uneasy relations between Musk and the Trump administration’s space team, highlighting the mix of political and corporate friction in America’s space programme
The origins of the Musk–Duffy feud
The latest confrontation stems partly from an earlier political rift that began when President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman — a close Musk ally and billionaire pilot — to lead NASA. Isaacman, who previously flew SpaceX’s private Inspiration4 mission, had been Musk’s preferred choice for the agency’s top job. But Trump rescinded the nomination in May, reportedly citing Isaacman’s connections to Musk and his political leanings.
“Some people had some axes to grind,” Isaacman said at the time, suggesting that the decision was driven by personal grievances within the administration. Musk reposted several messages defending Isaacman on X, calling him “literally the most qualified and best person to be the new head of NASA.”
Instead, Trump elevated Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman, reality TV personality from The Real World: Boston, and competitive lumberjack — to serve as Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator. Duffy’s appointment cemented the perception among Musk supporters that SpaceX was being sidelined. The feud deepened when reports surfaced that Duffy had previously clashed with Musk over cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration during Musk’s tenure at the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The push to fold NASA into Transportation Department
Adding fuel to the dispute, an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal report said that acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy was exploring a plan to fold NASA into the Department of Transportation — a proposal Musk denounced as a catastrophic mistake. On X, Musk and several of his followers warned that such a move could “mark the beginning of the end for American dominance in space.”
“The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ,” Musk reiterated in another post responding to the report.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told The Independent that while Duffy “had floated the idea of NASA benefiting from being part of the cabinet, maybe within the Department of Transportation,” he “never said he wants to keep the job himself.”
Still, the suggestion has unsettled scientists and industry observers who see NASA’s independence as central to its credibility and long-term mission planning. Folding it into a department focused on highways, air travel, and logistics, they argue, could weaken the agency’s technical autonomy and reduce its global standing.
SpaceX, Artemis, and the race back to the Moon
SpaceX remains one of several key contractors in NASA’s Artemis programme, alongside Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin , and Northrop Grumman . The initiative aims to establish a permanent base on the lunar surface as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.
SpaceX won its $2.9 billion contract in 2021 to develop the lunar lander system that would return American astronauts to the Moon for the first time in more than fifty years. However, the timeline for the Artemis III mission has been repeatedly delayed. NASA’s next crewed lunar flyby, originally scheduled for 2025, has been pushed to April 2026, while the first landing of two astronauts on the Moon’s south polar region is now planned for 2027.
Duffy told CNBC that under current projections, the Artemis III landing might not happen until 2028. “We’re not going to wait for one company,” he said, emphasising that the U.S. must move swiftly to “win the second space race against the Chinese.”
China, meanwhile, has announced plans to land its astronauts on the Moon by 2030, advancing steadily toward that goal. Duffy has publicly warned that Beijing’s progress represents a serious challenge to U.S. leadership in space exploration.
Musk, however, insisted that SpaceX remains far ahead of its competitors. Responding to a user who said, “It seems silly to imagine someone getting us there faster than SpaceX,” Musk replied: “They won’t. SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry.”
What lies ahead for America’s space agenda
Behind the barbed exchanges lies a deeper contest over who will shape the future of U.S. space policy. Duffy’s administration is keen to diversify contracts and accelerate the Artemis timeline, while Musk sees such moves as political interference that undermines innovation.
SpaceX and Blue Origin have until 29 October to present proposals on how they plan to speed up lunar missions, according to a NASA official cited by CNBC. Whether Musk’s company can maintain its lead amid growing political friction remains uncertain.
What happened: Elon Musk’s online clash with NASA chief Sean Duffy
Elon Musk’s simmering tensions with the Trump administration reignited this week after the billionaire launched a furious online tirade at U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. The exchange erupted on Tuesday when Musk accused Duffy of “trying to kill NASA,” moments after the cabinet official suggested that SpaceX was falling behind on the U.S. mission to return humans to the Moon.
We are in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST.
— NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy (@SecDuffyNASA) October 20, 2025
SpaceX has the contract to build the HLS which will get U.S. astronauts there on Artemis III.
But, competition and innovation are the keys to our dominance in… pic.twitter.com/dAo0so5qqZ
The clash followed Duffy’s comments on CNBC a day earlier, where he said Musk’s rocket company was lagging behind the government’s schedule for the Artemis programme, the ambitious effort to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Duffy added that he intended to open the $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to other bidders, including Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” he said. “We’re going to push this forward and win the second space race against the Chinese. Get back to the moon, set up a camp, a base.”
Musk, never one to hold back on his platform X, first replied to Duffy’s post with a with a GIF of a famous exchange in which an African anchor asked a guest, “Why are you gay?” before escalating further. “Sean Dummy,” he wrote in another post, accusing Duffy of “trying to kill NASA.”
Also, one question pic.twitter.com/DhpuWoOTPt
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2025
In response to Duffy’s remarks about opening up contracts to competitors, Musk took a swipe at Bezos’s company, posting, “Blue Origin has never delivered a payload to orbit, let alone the Moon.”
Blue Origin has never delivered a payload to orbit, let alone the Moon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2025
In a separate message, he added: “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ.” He also mocked Duffy’s past as a competitive tree climber, posting a poll asking, “Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?”
If you need help making your decision, here are two photos of the farthest each NASA candidate has gone from earths surface. https://t.co/43j4J1ZXNy pic.twitter.com/xHjbJTuV7L
— Luke Leisher (@luke_leisher_) October 21, 2025
Duffy avoided responding to Musk’s personal attacks directly but addressed the broader criticism later that day. “Love the passion,” he posted on X. “The race to the moon is ON. Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge. When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
Love the passion.
— NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy (@SecDuffyNASA) October 21, 2025
The race to the Moon is ON.
Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge.
When our innovators compete with each other, America wins! https://t.co/P8gYX7R0mp pic.twitter.com/mAoGG1bq8c
The outburst capped months of uneasy relations between Musk and the Trump administration’s space team, highlighting the mix of political and corporate friction in America’s space programme
The origins of the Musk–Duffy feud
The latest confrontation stems partly from an earlier political rift that began when President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman — a close Musk ally and billionaire pilot — to lead NASA. Isaacman, who previously flew SpaceX’s private Inspiration4 mission, had been Musk’s preferred choice for the agency’s top job. But Trump rescinded the nomination in May, reportedly citing Isaacman’s connections to Musk and his political leanings.
“Some people had some axes to grind,” Isaacman said at the time, suggesting that the decision was driven by personal grievances within the administration. Musk reposted several messages defending Isaacman on X, calling him “literally the most qualified and best person to be the new head of NASA.”
Instead, Trump elevated Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman, reality TV personality from The Real World: Boston, and competitive lumberjack — to serve as Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator. Duffy’s appointment cemented the perception among Musk supporters that SpaceX was being sidelined. The feud deepened when reports surfaced that Duffy had previously clashed with Musk over cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration during Musk’s tenure at the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The push to fold NASA into Transportation Department
Adding fuel to the dispute, an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal report said that acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy was exploring a plan to fold NASA into the Department of Transportation — a proposal Musk denounced as a catastrophic mistake. On X, Musk and several of his followers warned that such a move could “mark the beginning of the end for American dominance in space.”
“The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ,” Musk reiterated in another post responding to the report.
The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ https://t.co/U4O2GERiTg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2025
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told The Independent that while Duffy “had floated the idea of NASA benefiting from being part of the cabinet, maybe within the Department of Transportation,” he “never said he wants to keep the job himself.”
Still, the suggestion has unsettled scientists and industry observers who see NASA’s independence as central to its credibility and long-term mission planning. Folding it into a department focused on highways, air travel, and logistics, they argue, could weaken the agency’s technical autonomy and reduce its global standing.
SpaceX, Artemis, and the race back to the Moon
SpaceX remains one of several key contractors in NASA’s Artemis programme, alongside Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin , and Northrop Grumman . The initiative aims to establish a permanent base on the lunar surface as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.
SpaceX won its $2.9 billion contract in 2021 to develop the lunar lander system that would return American astronauts to the Moon for the first time in more than fifty years. However, the timeline for the Artemis III mission has been repeatedly delayed. NASA’s next crewed lunar flyby, originally scheduled for 2025, has been pushed to April 2026, while the first landing of two astronauts on the Moon’s south polar region is now planned for 2027.
Duffy told CNBC that under current projections, the Artemis III landing might not happen until 2028. “We’re not going to wait for one company,” he said, emphasising that the U.S. must move swiftly to “win the second space race against the Chinese.”
China, meanwhile, has announced plans to land its astronauts on the Moon by 2030, advancing steadily toward that goal. Duffy has publicly warned that Beijing’s progress represents a serious challenge to U.S. leadership in space exploration.
Musk, however, insisted that SpaceX remains far ahead of its competitors. Responding to a user who said, “It seems silly to imagine someone getting us there faster than SpaceX,” Musk replied: “They won’t. SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry.”
What lies ahead for America’s space agenda
Behind the barbed exchanges lies a deeper contest over who will shape the future of U.S. space policy. Duffy’s administration is keen to diversify contracts and accelerate the Artemis timeline, while Musk sees such moves as political interference that undermines innovation.
SpaceX and Blue Origin have until 29 October to present proposals on how they plan to speed up lunar missions, according to a NASA official cited by CNBC. Whether Musk’s company can maintain its lead amid growing political friction remains uncertain.
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