Elon Musk is taking aim at the head of NASA amid news that the U.S. space agency may consider companies other than SpaceX to build landers to transport astronauts to the moon’s surface.
Musk, a billionaire and the world’s richest man, took to social media site X to hurl personal attacks at NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy. The insults came after Duffy made a series of public appearances to proclaim NASA’s intention of reopening a contract with SpaceX for a moon lander for its upcoming Artemis III mission.
The lucrative contract was for SpaceX to develop its Starship, which has been undergoing flight tests in Texas, to meet astronauts in orbit to transport them to the lunar surface. The Starship megarocket, standing more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, is also critical to Musk’s dream of humans reaching Mars.
Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, initially appeared to shrug off concerns about renewed competition for the contract.
Here’s more about Musk’s exchanges with Duffy over NASA’s decision.
Musk calls NASA head Duffy ‘Sean Dummy’
Musk took aim at Sean Duffy, also the U.S. transportation secretary, in a series of social media posts Tuesday, Oct. 21.
In one post on X, which Musk owns, he responded to reports that Duffy is pushing for NASA to be folded into the Transportation Department by saying, “Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!”
In another post, Musk shared a poll asking, “Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?” The poll appears to be a reference to Duffy’s being a lumberjack sports champion from Hayward, Wisconsin.
NASA to reopen SpaceX contract for moon lander
Musk went on the offensive amid news that Duffy and NASA plan to reopen its moon landing contract with SpaceX, now worth $4.4 billion, to other bidders.
NASA had previously awarded the contract to SpaceX to develop its Starship megarocket to ferry Artemis III astronauts to the lunar surface before the decade is out.
But now, Duffy has recently publicized in a series of network news appearances that NASA is looking for new ideas for moon landers from SpaceX rivals like Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. The move comes as progress for Starship, the world’s largest rocket, has come slower than hoped – even following its two most successful tests of 2025 from Starbase in South Texas.
Duffy responds to Musk’s claims: ‘race to the moon is ON’
Duffy has not publicly addressed Musk’s personal attacks. But he did respond to an earlier post from Musk claiming, “SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry.”
“Starship will end up doing the whole moon mission,” Musk said. “Mark my words.”
In response, Duffy said in his own post on X, “Love the passion. The race to the Moon is ON.”
“Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge,” Duffy continued. “When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
Contributing: Reuters
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Elon Musk insults NASA head Sean Duffy amid Starship’s uncertain role in moon landing
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
