Billionaire Elon Musk is facing the risk of losing government contracts in the United States following a clash with President Donald Trump on social media. Trump threatened to cut off all contracts that Musk’s companies have with the U.S. government, writing on Truth Social that ending subsidies and contracts would save billions of dollars, Rks News reports.
Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, called on authorities to seize Musk’s company SpaceX, while Musk initially announced he would “decommission” NASA’s Dragon spacecraft—but later withdrew the statement.
The value of SpaceX’s contracts with the government, many of which are for classified projects, is believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars. In fiscal year 2024 alone, SpaceX received $3.8 billion. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has stated that the company holds around $22 billion in government contracts, including $15 billion from NASA.
One of the largest deals is with the U.S. Department of Defense, worth $733 million for launching satellites for national security purposes. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s companies have benefited from at least $38 billion in contracts, loans, and subsidies from the U.S. government in recent years.
