Elon Musk Clashes With Acting NASA Administrator Over Moon Mission Delays and Competition

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk publicly criticized NASA's acting administrator following comments about the US space agency's lunar mission plans.

On Tuesday, Elon Musk expressed his frustration with NASA's acting administrator after the official encouraged other companies to participate in efforts to return humans to the Moon.

"Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!" wrote the billionaire entrepreneur on his social media platform X, targeting Sean Duffy, who currently holds positions as both NASA's acting administrator and US transportation secretary.

Duffy had announced on Monday that NASA was opening new bidding opportunities for its lunar mission, citing delays in SpaceX's Starship rocket development as concerns grow about competition with China in space exploration.

"I love SpaceX. It's an amazing company. The problem is, they're behind. They pushed their timelines out and we're in a race against China," Duffy stated during an appearance on Fox News.

NASA's Artemis program aims to put humans back on the Moon while China advances with its own competing program targeting a crewed lunar mission by 2030 at the latest.

After multiple schedule adjustments, NASA has now set the Artemis 3 mission for mid-2027, though experts point out that SpaceX still faces significant technical challenges before its rocket will be ready for the mission.

In a subsequent post on X, Duffy emphasized that the United States is "in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST."

He specifically mentioned potential bids from Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin "and others."

Musk responded on X, stating, "SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry."

He confidently added, "Starship will end up doing the whole Moon mission. Mark my words."

Tensions are increasing amid uncertainty over who will become NASA's permanent leader.

Former President Trump had initially nominated businessman Jared Isaacman, an associate of Musk, but the White House unexpectedly withdrew this nomination in May, shortly before Musk's relationship with Trump deteriorated.

According to media reports, Trump is reconsidering Isaacman for the position, while Duffy is hoping to retain the NASA leadership role.