SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lashed out at NASA's acting administrator on Tuesday after the space agency chief invited other companies to enter the race to help get humans back on the Moon.
"Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!" the billionaire entrepreneur said in a post on X, referring to Sean Duffy, who also serves as US transportation secretary.
On Monday, Duffy announced that NASA was seeking new bids to support its mission to return humans to the Moon, citing delays in the development of SpaceX's Starship rocket amid a space race with China.
-
-
Andrew Ng On AI At Scale: Building The Intelligence Economy | NDTV World Summit 2026 -
NDTV World Summit 2026: Behind The Scenes As Ayush And Vedika Preview Two-Day Mega Event -
Who Is Rajiv Mehta? Lilavati Hospital Trustee To Speak At NDTV World Summit 2026 -
Ex-CIA Director To Decode 'War In Times Of AI' At NDTV World Summit -
From Call Centre To Billion-Dollar Disruptor: Nikhil Kamath At NDTV World Summit -
'Every 5 Years, You'll See A New India': Swami Sarvapriyananda Ahead Of NDTV World Summit -
Alain Ebobisse, Africa50 CEO, To Attend NDTV World Summit 2026. All About Him -
Kriti Sanon At NDTV World Summit: A Look At Her Career And Business Ventures -
Ex-CIA Director To Decode 'War In Times Of AI' At NDTV World Summit -
Who Is Vikram Rai, CEO, South Asia GE Aerospace, Set To Attend The NDTV World Summit 2026
"I love SpaceX. It's an amazing company. The problem is, they're behind. They pushed their timelines out and we're in a race against China," Duffy said on Fox News.
The US space agency's Artemis program hopes to return humans to the Moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.
After several postponements, NASA is now planning the Artemis 3 mission for mid-2027, but experts say SpaceX must still clear complex technical challenges before its rocket is ready.
Duffy later said on X that the United States is "in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST."
He mentioned potential bids from Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, "and others."
On X, Musk retorted, "SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry.
"Starship will end up doing the whole Moon mission. Mark my words," he said.
The tension is ratcheting up amid questions over who will become the permanent leader of NASA.
Trump had originally tapped businessman Jared Isaacman, a Musk associate, but the White House suddenly withdrew the nomination in May, just before Musk's relationship with Trump soured.
Media reports suggest that Trump is again considering Isaacman, while Duffy is hoping to hold on to the NASA position.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
