Musk lovefest over as Trump cancels SpaceX contracts, billionaire retaliates by decommissioning Dragon rocket

The lovefest between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump appears to have soured after the tech mogul ordered SpaceX to "immediately" decommission one of its rockets – the partially reusable Dragon spacecraft – after Trump vowed to cancel all Musk's federal contracts.

The former Doge envoy posted the announcement on his social media platform on Thursday afternoon, leaving NASA's space program in the lurch.

The retaliatory move appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to an earlier statement made by the president on his Truth Social platform, dissing the high costs associated with Musk’s federal 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 posted.

Just six minutes later, Musk shot back at the President, addressing the comment on X. “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.”

In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately pic.twitter.com/NG9sijjkgW

undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

US space agency NASA relies on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station under a contract worth roughly $4.9 billion. The capsule is the only US spacecraft capable of flying humans in orbit, according to Reuters.

Musk’s clapback supports the latest media frenzy showing a deteriorating relationship between the two titans, which seemingly began after Musk openly criticized the Trump administration's passage of "Big Beautiful Bill" in the House last week.

Musk called the pork-laden spending bill a "disgusting abomination," many say because of the cuts to electric vehicle tax credits, refusal to consider Starlink to upgrade FAA communications, and a denied request to keep his “special government employee” role at Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), among others.

Trump, in contrast, seemed almost surprised by Musk’s reaction to the bill, which still must pass the Senate, stating he was "disappointed" and expected Musk to be supportive of the "biggest tax cuts in history."

Taking Dragon out of service would disrupt the International Space Station (ISS) program, which involves dozens of countries under an international agreement signed over two decades ago, Reuters said.

The only other space program capable of sending astronauts on crewed spacecraft to the ISS is Russia's Soyuz system, it noted.