Over the past few days, Musk has lobbed insults at Duffy, who has been serving as the acting administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, accusing him of lacking intelligence, trying to dismantle NASA and putting astronauts in danger of being killed.
The tirade, which he issued in a series of posts on his social media platform, X, was prompted by Duffy’s announcement Monday that NASA would reopen the bidding process for its next moon landing mission, Artemis III, the contract for which is held by the Musk-owned SpaceX.
“SpaceX, an amazing company, they do remarkable things. But they’re behind schedule,” Duffy said on Fox News, explaining that President Donald Trump wanted to “beat the Chinese” and make another moon landing before the end of his term in the White House.
“We’re going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the moon first,” he added.
In response, Musk fired off an epithet-laden barrage at Duffy, including several posts in which he claimed that Duffy had below-average intelligence. “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ,” he wrote.
Duffy later responded to Musk’s insults with a social media post that quipped: “Love the passion,” adding that “great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge.”
In a statement, NASA’s press secretary, Bethany Stevens, said Duffy “has focused the agency on one clear goal — making sure America gets back to the moon before China.”
Musk did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Musk’s targeting of Duffy is just the latest public attack he has levied against members of the Trump administration and GOP leaders since leaving his government post earlier this year.
In June, just days after departing, Musk took several shots at Trump’s signature domestic policy bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination” and condemning House Republicans who voted for it for “making America bankrupt.”
He later suggested the president was covering up details of the Jeffrey Epstein case, claiming without providing evidence that Trump was named in the investigative files.
Musk and Trump appeared to have a rapprochement last month when they were seen shaking hands and sitting next to each other talking at an Arizona memorial for Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist.
Musk has a lot on the line before Duffy’s agencies.
As both secretary of transportation and acting NASA administrator, Duffy has authority over sectors that are crucial to some of Musk’s largest investments, such as space tech, as well as the highways upon which the billionaire wants his self-driving cars to be able to operate.
The Artemis III agreement with NASA, a multibillion-dollar contract awarded to SpaceX in April 2021, envisions a lunar landing by 2027, but NASA officials believe the mission date will slip to at least the following year. Such delays could cost the United States its ability to have an edge in what officials call the “second space race” against China, which has plans for a lunar landing of its own by 2030.
While Duffy stated on Fox that he is “in the process of opening that contract up,” SpaceX has not yet lost the Artemis III contract.
Instead, Musk’s company and Blue Origin, the space company owned by another billionaire, Jeff Bezos, were ordered to submit plans for accelerating their missions, which are due Oct. 29, according to a NASA spokesperson. (Blue Origin has the Artemis V contract, for a later moon landing mission.) NASA has not yet filed the request for information that would open up either of those contracts to bidding from other companies.
The Artemis missions were insulated from the government shutdown, which has otherwise taken its toll on NASA. An estimated 83% of the agency’s workers — including contractors — were put on furlough.
But it is unclear what those shutdown reductions portend for the agency, which is the subject of intense debate over its structure and leadership.
Duffy has said that he believes NASA would benefit from having Cabinet-level representation, potentially under the Department of Transportation.
Yet there is a growing base of support for reviving the appointment of Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and a close associate of Musk’s, to lead NASA.
Isaacman was Trump’s nominee to run the space agency until May, when the president yanked his bid just days before a Senate confirmation vote he was expected to secure, citing concerns that he had previously donated to Democrats. That decision contributed to the tension between Musk and the president that preceded the billionaire’s departure from Washington.
In recent days, a group of Republicans, including far-right influencer Laura Loomer, have been calling for Trump to reverse his decision and appoint Isaacman to run NASA, removing the agency from Duffy’s portfolio.
