Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy appears to have drawn the ire of Elon Musk.
Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, took aim at Duffy on Tuesday in a flurry of social media posts criticizing his intelligence and recent efforts leading the space agency.
“Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!” Musk wrote on Xwhich he also owns, using an offensive nickname to refer to the current administrator. IN separate post, he said: “The person in charge of the American space program cannot have a double-digit IQ.”
Duffy announced Monday that NASA's efforts to return astronauts to the moon — and to do this before China makes its mark there — the agency is open to using SpaceX's competitors' lunar landers.
NASA's plan was to use SpaceX's next-generation rockets. Starship missile system under developmentto land on the lunar surface.
In his Tuesday posts, Musk even set up a poll for his X followers to have their say, asking the question: “Should a man whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be in charge of the American space program?” One answer was: “Yes, chimpanzees can!” while another was: “No, he needs brains!”
The poll had nearly 110,000 votes as of Tuesday afternoon.
In 2021, SpaceX won a $2.9 billion contract to use its Starship rocket system to land two astronauts on the lunar surface for NASA's Artemis III mission, scheduled to launch in 2027.
But Musk's rocket company is behind schedule with its testing and development of Starship, and this ship has survived a number of explosive failures earlier this year.
At the same time, political pressure has increased as the space race with China intensifies. The country, which aims to land its astronauts on the moon by 2030, has already sent two robotic rovers to the lunar surface and conducted key tests of a new rocket that will be used for manned missions to the Moon.
Appearing Monday on Fox News and CNBC, Duffy said NASA will open up the Artemis III contract and solicit other lunar lander proposals from rival space companies to help the U.S. remain competitive with China.
“We're not going to wait for one company,” Duffy This was featured on CNBC's Squawk Box. on Monday. “We're going to push forward and win the second space race from the Chinese.”
Duffy added that he and President Donald Trump are committed to returning astronauts to the moon during Trump's second term.
Duffy cited Blue Origin, the space launch company founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as an example of a SpaceX competitor that could offer its own technology.
The comments appeared to anger Musk.
In messages Monday, Musk questioned whether any other commercial space company could meet such a tight deadline.
“SpaceX is moving at lightning speed compared to the rest of the space industry,” he wrote. “What's more, Starship will eventually complete the entire lunar mission. Mark my words.”
SpaceX is indeed far ahead of its competitors – it already conducts regular NASA missions to transport astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station.
In response to Musk's message Duffy wrote on X: “Love the passion. The race to the moon is on. Great companies shouldn't be afraid of challenges. When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
But on Tuesday, Musk's online tirade turned personal as he questioned Duffy's competence to lead NASA. Although Duffy is temporarily heading the agency, Wall Street Journal report Monday suggested he is trying to retain the position in addition to his duties as transport secretary.
The magazine reported that Duffy was battling billionaire Jared Isaacman, who may again be a potential candidate to become NASA administrator. Trump withdrew Isaacman's nomination in May, shortly before his expected confirmation vote, after what the president called a “thorough review of previous associations.” (Trump did not provide details, but some Republicans have expressed concern that Isaacman has previously donated to Democrats.)
Musk supported Isaacman, who flew two private SpaceX missions into orbit.
Bethany Stevens, a NASA spokeswoman, told NBC News that President Trump asked Duffy to talk to potential administrator candidates and that the interim chief “was happy to help by vetting people and providing honest feedback.”
“Sean is grateful that the President gave him the opportunity to lead NASA,” Stevens said. “At the direction of the President, Sean focused the agency on one clear goal – making sure America gets back to the Moon before China. Sean said NASA could benefit from a cabinet position, perhaps even a position in the Department of Transportation, but he never said he wanted to keep that position himself.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The timing of the Isaacman drama in May coincided with the ugly public spat between Trump and Musk that preceded SpaceX CEO's departure from the White House as a special civil servant. Musk's exit was tense – he criticized Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill”calling it a “huge, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill” and a “disgusting abomination” that will increase the budget deficit.
Trump chose Duffy in July to be the interim administrator of NASA.
