Elon Musk has publicly criticized Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who also serves as the acting administrator of NASA, accusing him of attempting to “kill” the agency. Musk wrote on social media: “Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!” He further mocked Duffy’s intellect, stating, “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ.”
Musk’s comments followed Duffy’s announcement that NASA is open to using moon landers from competitors to SpaceX in its effort to return astronauts to the moon before China. Previously, NASA had planned to rely on SpaceX’s Starship rocket system for its Artemis III mission, slated for 2027. However, Musk’s company has faced delays in testing and development of Starship, with several explosive failures this year.
In a separate post, Musk created a poll for his X followers asking: “Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?” The options included “Yezz, chimps skillz rūl!” and “Noo, he need moar brainz!” As of Tuesday afternoon, the poll received nearly 110,000 votes.
Duffy, a former professional lumberjack who won multiple speed climbing titles, reportedly stated that SpaceX “does remarkable things” but is “behind schedule.” He also indicated NASA would allow other companies to compete with SpaceX for contracts. Meanwhile, reports suggest Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, may re-enter the race to lead NASA as Duffy seeks to consolidate control under the Transportation Department. Trump had previously withdrawn Isaacman’s nomination for NASA administrator earlier this year.
