As President Trump and Elon Musk argued on social media on Thursday, the world's richest man threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station, the AP reports. After Trump threatened to cut government contracts given to Musk's SpaceX rocket company and his Starlink internet satellite services, Musk responded via X that SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." Hours later, however, he walked that back, saying, "OK, we won't decommission Dragon" after a user on X suggested he take some time to calm down, CNBC reports. A Bloomberg podcaster joked, "An account with 184 followers has achieved de-escalation between two of the most powerful people in the world."
The capsule, developed with the help of government contracts, is an important part of keeping the space station running. NASA also relies heavily on SpaceX for other programs including launching science missions and, later this decade, returning astronauts to the surface of the moon. SpaceX is the only US company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules. For his part, President Trump and some of his aides appeared to be signaling a possible "détente" with Musk by Thursday night, Politico reports. "Oh it's OK," Trump told the outlet when asked about the feud with Musk. He went on to tout his current approval ratings. Sources say aides have urged Trump to focus more on legislation and less on the fight with Musk.
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