Steve Bannon warned Trump about Elon, and now he's giving POTUS some valuable advice
Washington D.C.: President Donald Trump is under pressure to take drastic action against Elon Musk after the SpaceX CEO threatened to abandon NASA astronauts in orbit amid a bitter fallout between the two mercurial personalities.
The explosive clash began when Trump suggested cutting Musk’s government contracts, prompting Musk to retaliate by announcing the decommissioning of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft—a critical vehicle for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared that terminating Musk’s federal subsidies and contracts would save the U.S. government "Billions and Billions of Dollars". SpaceX has received over $17 billion in government contracts since 2015, primarily from NASA and the Department of Defense. Tesla has also benefited from approximately $1 billion in federal support.
Musk responded, stating that SpaceX would begin "decommissioning" its Dragon capsules, which could strand NASA astronauts currently aboard the ISS. The move would leave the U.S. without a reliable spacecraft for crewed missions, as Boeing’s Starliner remains plagued by technical issues.
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Steve Bannon, a Trump ally and a vocal Musk critic, escalated the conflict by calling for the government to seize SpaceX using the Defense Production Act—a Cold War-era law granting the president broad authority over industries deemed vital to national security.
"The United States government should take possession of it," Bannon declared on his War Room show. He also demanded Musk’s security clearance be revoked and all federal contracts with his companies frozen pending an investigation. Bannon even suggested deporting Musk, claiming the naturalized U.S. citizen was "here illegally".
The feud turned personal after Musk claimed Trump was "in the Epstein files", referencing the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Musk also endorsed calls for Trump’s impeachment, suggesting Vice President JD Vance replace him.
Trump dismissed Musk’s attacks, accusing him of being "crazy" and upset over the administration’s rollback of electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, which hurt Tesla. "Elon was wearing thin," Trump said, claiming he had asked Musk to leave his advisory role in the administration.
As the spat intensified, Tesla’s stock plummeted, and concerns grew over the future of U.S. space missions. Musk’s threat to decommission Dragon capsules could disrupt NASA’s operations, leaving astronauts dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecraft—a scenario Trump’s allies warn would undermine American space dominance.