Tensions flared between President Trump and Elon Musk on June 5, culminating in threats to cancel SpaceX contracts and decommission spacecraft. The conflict, primarily played out on social media, began with Musk's criticism of a budget reconciliation bill supported by Trump. This occurred shortly after Musk ended his role as a “special government employee” overseeing the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.” Musk, interpreting this as a threat to SpaceX, responded on X approximately 90 minutes later: “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.” He did not elaborate on the specifics of “decommissioning” Dragon.
This exchange raised concerns about the potential impact on NASA and the Department of Defense, who heavily rely on SpaceX for launch services. SpaceX currently holds a monopoly on crew transportation to the International Space Station, excluding Russia's Soyuz. Furthermore, SpaceX is contracted to develop the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle. Musk previously revealed that SpaceX projects $15.5 billion in revenue for 2025, with $1.1 billion from NASA contracts alone, although defense contracts were not detailed.
An industry source, speaking anonymously, described the exchange as “bluster,” citing the federal government's dependence on SpaceX. Approximately five hours after his initial threat, Musk retracted his statement, responding to a user's advice to "cool off," writing, “Good advice…Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
NASA remained neutral, with press secretary Bethany Stevens stating: “NASA will continue to execute upon the President’s vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met.”
The conflict overshadowed Trump's earlier announcement regarding the withdrawal of Jared Isaacman's nomination as NASA administrator. Trump stated: “Musk wanted, and rightfully, recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well — I’m sure he respected him — to run NASA, and I didn’t think it was appropriate…We won. We get certain privileges and one of the privileges is we don’t have to appoint a Democrat.” He added that Gen. Dan Caine would select a replacement.