Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are locked in a bitter rivalry for supremacy in space exploration. Donald Trump’s return to the White House could boost Musk’s rise.
As it stands, Musk’s SpaceX is the undisputed leader of the competition: it regularly sends astronauts into space, while Bezos’ Blue Origin has yet to launch anyone beyond the outer edge of space.
But Bezos’ company, even though it lags far behind SpaceX, is seen as its biggest U.S. competitor, and the two companies have clashed in court over billions of dollars in government funding. More recently, their battle has become increasingly bitter as the billionaires themselves traded barbs on Musk-owned X.
With Musk chatting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago for weeks after the election, their proximity has the space industry concerned that Musk could manipulate the space race to his advantage by funneling billions of dollars in government funding to SpaceX. The biggest threat to SpaceX’s peers is that Musk will aim to create a monopoly in the private space industry.
“People are concerned about what is being done to stop this,” said a space industry lobbyist who granted anonymity to discuss private conversations about Musk’s influence. “You’re talking about two of the most unpredictable people in the world coming together. It’s not like chocolate and peanut butter, and you get a great combination. You are talking about world domination here.”
Of the two entrepreneurs, one has developed a close partnership with the president-elect; the other has earned his ire and the nickname “Jeff Bozo.” The implications of their dealings with Trump could shape the next chapter of private space exploration, and the space industry is trying to understand how Musk could displace competitors or fill influential government positions with his allies, including the head of NASA.
Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin are competing to be the most technologically advanced company in the private space sector. Investments from the federal government have stimulated companies, but also forced them to compete for raw materials. The matter came to a head in 2021 when SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract for a moon landing mission and Blue Origin sued the federal government over it. Blue Origin lost that case, but was later awarded its own contract to create other technology for a moon mission.
For Musk, who has dubbed Bezos’ company “Sue Origin,” this battle is a personal one years in the making. In a post early Thursday morning on his platform X, he gleefully accused Bezos of telling others to sell their SpaceX and Tesla shares because Trump would lose the election. Tesla stock prices have soared since news of Trump’s victory.
“100% not true,” Bezos responded – to which Musk said, “Well, I stand corrected” with a laughing emoji.
Despite Trump’s nickname, Bezos has seemingly changed his tune on the newly elected president. In the run-up to the election, the owner of the Washington Post killed a planned show of support for Vice President Kamala Harris. And after Trump won, Bezos was quick to congratulate him. Blue Origin CEO David Limp met with Trump on the same day the Post announced it would not endorse a candidate.
But Bezos still has a long way to go to make amends with Trump. Few companies have felt Trump’s wrath more than Amazon, which he accused of not paying taxes and defrauding the US Postal Service. Trump has condemned the “Amazon Washington Post” as Bezos’ “lobbyist newspaper.” Amazon also previously accused the first Trump administration of giving a contract to Microsoft due to “improper pressure from President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump, on the other hand, called Musk a “super genius” in his victory speech, and the Tesla chief is aware of top-level planning for the next administration. Trump traveled to Texas on Tuesday to visit a SpaceX facility and attend a rocket launch.
“Everyone in the space industry is concerned about Elon’s influence right now. Everyone,” said Charles Miller, a NASA alumnus who worked on the agency’s planning for the first Trump transition team. “They’re kind of imagining what they would do if they were that close to the president.”
SpaceX and Blue Origin did not return requests for comment.
The competition between Musk and Bezos is a microcosm of how industries are preparing to battle an administration that shows favoritism toward its allies and vindictiveness toward those who have not shown sufficient respect for Trump. After he was first elected, Trump threatened new taxes on General Motors, blasted Merck for its pharmaceutical prices and delivered an ominous message about the end of Harley-Davidson.
Blue Origin has been closely watching what effect Musk might have on Trump’s choice to lead NASA, the agency that has outsourced billions of dollars to both Blue Origin and SpaceX, according to a person who works with Blue Origin. The industry is particularly concerned that Musk will push the government to appoint Kathryn Lueders, general manager of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, to lead the agency, a space industry lobbyist said. Both people were granted anonymity to discuss private details about the strategy in Washington.
On Capitol Hill, Blue Origin is trying to sound the alarm about possible unfair advantages in the space race. The company has argued that any policies that crowd out competition and capacity in the civilian or military space sectors could harm the country’s space program and national security, the person working with Blue Origin said. Another person familiar with Blue Origin’s Washington strategy said the company is trying to remind people on the Hill that its technology will soon take off and it wants to be a competitor.
“Elon wants a monopoly in space,” argued the person familiar with Blue Origin’s Washington strategy.
Ultimately, government officials in the executive branch will have significant power over who receives federal dollars, and it’s unclear what influence Musk — who was tapped to co-lead a new commission called the Department of Government Efficiency — might have at those lower levels. rents. One space industry lobbyist wondered whether Musk would try to put his own people in those positions.
Recently, Blue Origin attempted to thwart some of SpaceX’s work with the federal government. For example, SpaceX has sought approval to launch its large Starship model from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Blue Origin has taken steps to limit this. Bezos’ company has argued to the Federal Aviation Administration that SpaceX’s launches at the Florida site could impact the environment and safety of the surrounding site.
Blue Origin’s latest strategy is to try to use others in the space industry against Musk’s SpaceX. In the aftermath of the election, the company quietly rallied the industry to speak out about SpaceX and Musk potentially pushing for the dissolution of the National Space Council, according to two space lobbyists. There is no public evidence that SpaceX is trying to do away with the panel.
The first Trump administration revived the National Space Council, a White House space policy group, in 2017. Executives at SpaceX and some of its competitors have seats on the advisory group and provide feedback to the industry for policy. If the group were to dissolve, it would increase Musk’s relative access and influence compared to peers in space exploration.
“Without the Space Council, it’s just Elon talking to Trump about all things space,” said one of the space lobbyists. “I don’t think these are just Blue Origin’s concerns. That is everyone’s concern.”
