Donald Trump‘s efforts to cut ties with Elon Musk and SpaceX hit a road block when a formal review laid out just how crucial his contracts are to America’s dominance in space.
Trump had suggested at the height of his feud with the world’s richest man that the administration could save millions of dollars by ‘terminating’ government contracts with Musk’s companies, which would force him to ‘head back home to South Africa.’
The relationship had spectacularly combusted over Musk’s criticism of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and personal attacks about the president’s former relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Days later, a senior official at the General Services Administration ordered the Defense Department to fill out a form detailing every current SpaceX contract and transaction agreement, The Wall Street Journal revealed.
The official said the data they collated would be shared with the White House to await further instruction.
He also made similar requests to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in an effort to establish whether a competitor could run the same contracts more effectively.
But the Defense Department’s review instead established that most of the deals with SpaceX were vital to the missions of the department and NASA, insiders claimed.
It also further highlighted how the government relies on Musk’s companies to remain leaders in space exploration, and how little competition there is in the market.
On June 5, Trump suggested on Truth Social the government could save money by ‘terminating’ government contracts with Musk’s companies, which would force him to ‘head back home to South Africa.’
At the height of President Trump’s public feud with Elon Musk, the administration reviewed SpaceX government contracts in an effort to cut ties with the billionaire’s business
Musk has somewhat of a monopoly on rocket launches and low Earth orbit satellite services, as competitors like Boeing face setbacks in their race to catch up with SpaceX technology.
In amidst the drama between Musk and Trump, the SpaceX founder had threatened to decommission his Crew Dragon – which is the only US certified vehicle able to fly people to and from the space station.
The threats sparked concern within NASA, particularly after the Crew Dragon was recently involved in a mission to save two astronauts who had been stranded at the International Space Station for 286 days.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were trapped on the ISS with no way home after their Boeing Starliner suffered technical difficulties.Â
A week-long mission turned into nine months in space, until Musk’s Crew Dragon came to the rescue to bring them home in March.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell met with White House officials as the review was ongoing, insiders told the publication.
Despite Musk’s feud with Trump, SpaceX has continued to win contracts in 2025, including a deal worth $5.9billion to conduct 28 national security flights.
It also launched an upgraded GPS satellite for the Space Force in May, and NASA expects SpaceX to fly a new crew to the International Space Station within weeks.
In amidst the drama between Musk and Trump, the SpaceX founder had threatened to decomission his Crew Dragon – which is the only US certified vehicle able to fly people to and from the space station.
The threats sparked concern within NASA, particularly after the Crew Dragon was recently involved in a mission to save two astronauts who had been stranded at the International Space Station for 286 days
This has not improved relations between Trump and Musk, who remain divided on several key administration issues – primarily the Big Beautiful Bill and Trump’s more recent decision not to release any new information about Epstein.
Musk pledged to launch his own political party in protest of the spending bill, which he warned could ‘bankrupt America’ and add an estimated 3.3 billion to 4.5 billion to the national debt.Â
Trump immediately hit back, writing:Â ‘Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.
‘No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!’
More recently, Musk weighed in on Trump’s comments that the highly sought after Epstein client list is no more than a ‘hoax’ created by Democrats.
‘Wow, amazing that Epstein “killed himself” and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,’ the SpaceX CEO posted on his X account.
‘He should just release the files and point out which part is the hoax,’ he added in another post.
Musk’s barrage of criticism crystallized the growing discontent from Trump’s MAGA base over the president’s handling of the Epstein files.
