Donald Trump is facing calls to immediately seize control of SpaceX after Elon Musk threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station amid a bitter fallout with the president.
In an explosive back-and-fourth on Thursday afternoon, Trump hit back to Musk’s escalating claims by suggesting the entrepreneur’s multibillion-dollar government contracts be taken away.
The bromance between the world’s richest and most powerful men was in tatters on Thursday with Musk calling for Trump to be impeached after linking him to Jeffrey Epstein and the president urged to be deport the Space X boss.
The clash, which began over Musk’s opposition to Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ quickly evolved into personal insults and prompted the president to suggest that Musk’s multibillion-dollar government contracts should be ripped away.
‘The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,’ Trump said on Truth Social.
Musk promptly fired back, with the SpaceX chief saying he would begin ‘decommissioning’ his company’s Dragon spacecraft in response.
The spacecraft is vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to Trump during his first administration and a fierce critic of Elon Musk, quickly weighed in during his ‘War Room Live’ broadcast on Thursday.
He urged the president to seize SpaceX from the billionaire entrepreneur and invoke the Defense Production Act – a national security measure dating back to the Korean War era – to seize control of the company.
Musk last night appeared to extend an olive branch on social media, replying: ‘You’re not wrong’ to a post from hudge fund manager Bill Ackman that called on the pair to reconcile and urged: ‘We’re much stronger together than apart’.
Trump’s aides are reportedly looking to organize a call between the president and his former ‘First Buddy’ for Friday to smooth over the fallout that threatens to tear apart MAGA and destabilize DC.
Donald Trump has been urged to immediately seize control of SpaceX after Elon Musk threatened to leave NASA astronauts stranded in space following a massive fall out with the president
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station
In practice, seizing SpaceX which is a private company would prove difficult.
While the Defense Production Act gives the president broad powers to prioritize contracts deemed necessary for national defense, expand productive capacity and supply of critical goods and materials and allocate resources like energy, materials, or services, it does not explicitly authorize outright seizure or nationalization of private companies.
Trump could target Musk in other ways, such as targeting his contracts, clearances, and federal partnerships.
SpaceX has various contracts embedded within US national security infrastructure including Pentagon satellites (Starlink military versions), not to mention NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the Moon.
Nevertheless Bannon went further still, suggesting Musk be stripped of his security clearance and that all federal contracts awarded to the billionaire’s various enterprises be suspended pending a full-scale investigation.
Bannon then went on to demand Trump initiate deportation proceedings against Musk.
‘Elon Musk is here illegally. He’s got to go,’ Bannon said, despite the fact that Musk, originally from South Africa, has been a naturalized US citizen for more than twenty years.
Steve Bannon, center, a former senior adviser to Trump during his first administration and a fierce critic of Elon Musk, has called for the president to seize SpaceX from the billionaire
‘They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,’ Bannon said in a phone interview Thursday with The New York Times.
Later on his show, Bannon – who has long openly criticized the billionaire – called Musk an ‘unstable individual’ and a ‘national security issue,’ pointing to The New York Times report that charted the DOGE leader’s drug use.
‘President Trump is a bull and Elon is a baby calf,’ Bannon also said.
Following the disintegration of Trump and Musk’s relationship, the SpaceX CEO posted on X that he had decided to decommission his company’s Dragon spacecraft ‘immediately.’
The move was in response to Trump posting on Truth Social that he would consider terminating all of the US government’s contracts with Musk’s commercial space company.
The decommissioning of the Dragon capsule would leave NASA without a proven American spacecraft capable of sending and retrieving astronauts from the space station.
There are currently four NASA astronauts on the ISS. It is unknown if Musk would allow astronauts to return to Earth on board the Dragon capsule still attached to the station.
Bannon then went on to demand Trump initiate deportation proceedings against Musk. Pictured, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are seen in October 2024
Bannon suggested Musk be stripped of his security clearance and that all federal contracts awarded to Musk’s various enterprises be suspended pending a full-scale investigation
Just two months ago, Musk’s Dragon spacecraft came to the rescue of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were stranded on board the ISS for 286 days.
NASA also has a contract with Boeing, who is working on fixing their Starliner spacecraft, but the project has been plagued with problems that have left the craft untrustworthy for carrying humans to space at this time.
The spat between Musk and Trump broke out after the SpaceX boss voiced his opposition to the Republican-led ‘big, beautiful bill.’
Musk argues the spending bill add trillions to the national deficit – a move that enraged the billionaire amid his departure from the Trump Administration.
Musk had been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which had reported saving the US tens of billions of dollars on so-called wasteful government projects.
DOGE’s goal had been to get that number into the trillions.
On Thursday, tensions between the pair reached new heights, and a war of words broke out between Musk and the president over social media.
Musk claimed that Trump is ‘in the Epstein files’ and also suggested Trump should be impeached and replaced with 40-year-old Vice President JD Vance.
Moments before the Epstein charge, Trump had taken to Truth Social and said he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said the billionaire went ‘CRAZY!’
The president then found a new way of saving money in the federal budget, posting that he could cut ‘Billions and Billions of Dollars’ by ending the government’s partnership with both of Musk’s companies – SpaceX and Tesla.
Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) were stuck on the International Space Station since June 2024 before the Dragon capsule returned them on March 18, 2025
NASA used a SpaceX Dragon capsule in March to rescue 2 NASA astronauts from the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner craft failed 9 months earlier
SpaceX has been awarded over $17 billion in government contracts since 2015, according to ABC News. Much of that money comes from NASA and the Department of Defense.
Tesla has also received approximately $1 billion according to the latest figures from February.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, developed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is a reusable spacecraft designed to transport cargo and astronauts to the ISS.
It consists of a reusable capsule for the astronauts and an expendable trunk module, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
There have been two main variants of the capsule: the Dragon 1, which only carried cargo and has been retired, and the Dragon 2, which carries astronauts and cargo to space.
A third variant, Dragon XL, has been in development as part of NASA’s Lunar Gateway project, but it’s not yet operational.
Dragon XL would be capable of carrying cargo to a new base on the moon. It’s unknown if the project will be cancelled as part of Musk’s declaration to decommission the Dragon capsules.
Earlier on Thursday Musk agreed with a posting on X that Trump should be impeached and replaced with 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance amid their fiery falling out.
X User Ian Miles Cheong wrote: ‘President vs Elon. Who wins? My money’s on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him.’
‘Yes,’ Musk responded.
He also predicted that Trump’s tariff policy would create economic turmoil.
‘The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year,’ Musk said.
The impeachment call comes after Musk made the eye-popping claim that the president is ‘in the Epstein files’.
An image of President Donald Trump (left) and Elon Musk (right) in the Oval Office in March. Trump and Musk spectacularly broke up on Thursday with Musk publicly encouraging Trump to be impeached
Elon Musk answered ‘yes’ when one X user floated impeaching President Donald Trump and replacing him with 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance
The spectacular fallout between Trump and Musk – who were political allies for a little less than a year – started in recent weeks when the billionaire started resisting Republicans’ ‘big, beautiful bill,’ arguing that the spending wiped out DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts.
Then, earlier in the day when Trump was supposed to be hosting the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office he was asked about Musk’s recent criticism. From there, the dam broke.
‘Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more, I was surprised,’ Trump told reporters.
The president suggested that Musk was angry – not over the bill ballooning the deficit – but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced the Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX’s government contracts.
‘And you know, Elon’s upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they’re having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,’ Trump said. ‘I know that disburbed him.’
President Donald Trump attends a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police in the State Dinning Room, taking a brief break from his all-day war with former DOGE leader Elon Musk
Over the weekend, Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
Isaacman had worked alongside Musk at SpaceX.
‘He recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well, I’m sure he respected him, to run NASA and I didn’t think it was appropriate and he happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,’ Trump continued. ‘We won, we get certain privileges and one of the privileges is we don’t have to appoint a Democrat.’
Musk posted to X as Trump’s Q&A with reporters was ongoing.
‘Whatever,’ the billionaire wrote.
‘Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,’ he advised.
‘In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!’ Musk continued. ‘Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.’
The spat quickly turned personal with Musk then posting that Trump would have lost the 2024 election had it not been for the world’s richest man – him.
Elon Musk affirmed Thursday that he would like to see Vice President J.D. Vance take President Donald Trump’s place after he and Trump got in a very public spat
Elon Musk objected to President Donald Trump’s claim that Trump would have won Pennsylvania – and the 2024 election – without the help from the world’s richest man. ‘Such ingratitude,’ Musk commented
Musk had publicly endorsed Trump on the heels of the July 13th assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania and poured around $290 million of his fortune into the Republican’s campaign.
The billionaire also joined Trump on the campaign trail when he returned to the site of the Butler shooting in early October, a month before Election Day.
Trump said in the Oval that he likely still would have won Pennsylvania without Musk’s help and because Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t choose the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate.
Even with Shapiro on the ticket, Trump claimed, ‘I would have won Pennsylvania, I would have won by a lot.’
Musk said that was laughable.
‘Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,’ Musk claimed.
‘Such ingratitude,’ the billionaire added.
The 53-year-old Musk also asserted he had more staying power than the 78-year-old president.
President Donald Trump (right) celebrated Elon Musk’s (left) time in his administration on Friday, less than a week before their dramatic and very public break-up
‘Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years,’ Musk said Thursday afternoon, responding to a post from MAGA agitator Laura Loomer.
Loomer said she was reporting from Capitol Hill and that Republican lawmakers were trying to determine if it was better to side with Trump or Musk.
After his meeting with Merz, Trump continued to throw punches online.
Trump asserted that he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said the billionaire went ‘CRAZY!’
‘Elon was “wearing thin,” I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!’ Trump wrote.
The president then threatened to pull SpaceX and Tesla’s government contracts.
‘The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!’ Trump wrote.
Elon Musk dramatically charged that President Donald Trump’s name appears in the files of known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein
This 1997 photo shows then real estate developer Donald Trump (right) alongside Jeffrey Epstein (left), the pedophile sex offender who died in prison in 2019
Musk then taunted Trump to act.
‘This just gets better and better,’ he wrote. ‘Go ahead, make my day …’
In a follow-up post, Musk said he would ‘begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.’
The Dragon is how NASA astronauts currently travel to the International Space Station – and how supplies make it there.
As the fight continued, Tesla shares plummeted.
Anti-semitic rapper Kanye West even got involved.
‘Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much,’ West wrote.
And Musk threw the Epstein bomb.
‘@RealDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,’ Musk wrote. ‘Have a nice day, DJT!’
Jeffrey Epstein is a serial child sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
Trump pledged to release the files related to Epstein, with Attorney General Pam Bondi releasing some pages in February, but most of that information was already in the public domain.
‘Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,’ Musk added.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
Trump didn’t directly respond to Musk’s Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the ‘big, beautiful bill.’
‘I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,’ Trump wrote. ‘This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.’
Later he ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk’s Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room.
Asked for comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.’
‘The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,’ Leavitt added.
Trump didn’t directly respond to Musk’s Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the ‘big, beautiful bill.’
‘I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,’ Trump wrote. ‘This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.’
Later he ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk’s Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room.
A source familiar pointed out to the Daily Mail that ‘everyone knows President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club.’
‘The Administration itself released Epstein files with the President’s name included. This is not a new surprise Elon is uncovering. Everyone already knew this,’ the source continued.
The source also mused, ‘If Elon truly thought the President was more deeply involved with Epstein, why did he hangout with him for 6 months and say he “loves him as much as a straight man can love a straight man?”‘
It was less than a week ago that Trump gave Musk a golden key and a DOGE send-off from the Oval Office.