President Donald Trump has said he plans to “take a look” at Elon Musk‘s government contracts after their blowup on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Musk and Trump sparred publicly as their relationship crumbled in real time over the House fiscal plan that Republicans named the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The president said during a White House meeting that he was “disappointed” in his former close ally’s criticism of the budget, while Musk hit back in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that Republicans would not have won in 2024 without his support, and backed a post calling for Trump’s impeachment.
The collapse of the Trump-Musk relationship will likely affect technology and space travel if the president decides to punish Musk—the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and X, to name just a few of his companies.
What To Know
Amid their fiery dispute on Thursday, Trump warned that the “easiest way” to save billions in the budget was to “terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”
Musk responded by saying SpaceX will “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” although he has since walked that threat back.
Cooler heads prevailed on Friday, with Musk and Trump refraining from slinging direct insults at each other. But when asked if he planned to follow through on his threat to cut Musk’s government subsidies, by a reporter on Air Force One, Trump did not rule it out.
“We’ll take a look at everything,” Trump said. “It’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of subsidy. So we’ll take a look at that, only if it’s fair for him and for the country … but it has to be fair,” he added.
Musk’s federal contracts cover research development, space exploration, utility and defense. Among them is a 2021 SpaceX contract boosting NASA’s Artemis mission to send U.S. astronauts to the moon by developing the first commercial human lander.
The U.S. Department of Defense and Space Force have also established several contracts with SpaceX for Starlink satellite services, including a $70 million contract in 2023 for Starlink satellite internet services that help provide military units.
Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, has also benefited from several government programs, including federal loans from the Department of Energy and tax incentives.
What People Are Saying
NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens told Newsweek in an emailed statement on Friday: “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.”
Trump, on Thursday: “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore. I was surprised. You were here. Everybody in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful send-off. He said wonderful things about me. You couldn’t have nicer-said the best things. He’s worn the hat. Trump was right about everything, and I am right about the ‘Great Big Beautiful Bill.’”
Musk said on X Thursday: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
John Bolton, who previously served as Trump’s national security adviser, told USA Today: “It’s going to end up like most mud fights do, with both of them worse off. The question is how much worse the country is going to be off.”
What Happens Next
It is unlikely that Trump will cancel all of Musk’s federal contracts overnight but it is possible that he may start phasing out his companies and opting for his competitors.
Update 06/06/25, 8:19 p.m.: This article was updated with further information.
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