Elon Musk’s hostilities with Sean Duffy reignited Tuesday with the billionaire accusing the Trump administration’s Transport Secretary of “trying to kill NASA” and attacking him with crude comments online.
The richest man in the world’s onslaught of criticism comes just a day after Duffy told CNBC that Musk’s rocket company was falling “behind” the administration’s timeline for getting humans back to the moon, and that he would now be opening up the government contract to others – including the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin.
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” Duffy, who is also the Acting Administrator for NASA, said.
“We’re going to push this forward and win the second space race against the Chinese. Get back to the moon, set up a camp, a base and from there we’re gonna figure out how we can get to Mars,” he said.
The SpaceX boss made a series of posts on his social media platform X in response to Duffy’s remarks, including a GIF of a famous exchange in which an anchor asked a guest, “Why are you gay?”
But the disparagement from the Tesla co-founder did not stop there. As well as his offensive GIF post, Musk dubbed the former Fox Business co-host “Sean Dummy,” claiming he was “trying to kill” the agency.
The billionaire’s accusation followed aThe Wall Street Journal report that said Duffy planned to fold NASA into the Department of Transportation. Musk, alongside others on his platform X, said they believed such a move would mark the beginning of the end for American dominance in space.
“The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ,” he wrote in a separate post on Tuesday.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told The Independent that Duffy had floated the idea of NASA benefiting from being part of the cabinet maybe within the Department of Transportation, “but he’s never said he wants to keep the job himself.”
“The president asked him to talk with potential candidates for administrator, and he’s been happy to help by vetting people and giving his honest feedback. The bottom line is that Secretary Duffy is here to serve the president, and he will support whomever the president nominates,” she said in an emailed statement.
The Independent’s request for comment from the Department of Transportation was not immediately returned.
Trump cited Isaacman’s ties to Musk and his alleged political leanings in his decision but some have speculated online that the withdrawal was due to the explosive falling out between Trump and Musk in June.
Isaacman himself claimed that his nomination was pulled as “there were some people who had some axes to grind.”
Musk remains a strong advocate for Isaacman to lead the space agency now several months after President Donald Trump pulled his nomination, reposting a message in support of him.
And Musk questioned if Duffy was qualified to head the agency — even sharing a call for the former lumberjack and The Real World: Boston cast member to be ousted.
“Alright, Duffy has got to go,” said user @IronMan198XAD.
Duffy did not reply to Musk’s barrage of criticism but did write Tuesday that he loved Musk’s “passion” related to SpaceX and NASA’s ambitious Artemis program.
“The race to the moon is ON. Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge,” he said Tuesday. “When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
SpaceX was previously awarded the $2.9 billion contract to build the lander system that will get American astronauts back on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
But a timeline for such an achievement under the Artemis III mission is up in the air — maybe coming by 2028, Duffy told CNBC.
Since he was appointed acting administrator, Duffy has sounded the alarm over China’s progress toward the moon. The East Asian power player plans to land its astronauts there by 2030 and appears to be making steady progress.
“At the president’s direction, Sean has focused the agency on one clear goal — making sure America gets back to the moon before China,” Stevens noted.
NASA’s Artemis II – the second of six planned missions – is still expected to launch people around the moon as soon as February 2026.
The program is expected to pave the way for future crewed missions to Mars: a major focus for Musk.
