Outrage after Elon Musk's SpaceX awarded $38M government contract

 Outrage after Elon Musk's SpaceX awarded $38M government contract

The federal government awarded Elon Musk's company a $38.85 million contract on Monday as the billionaire works to slash other contracts. Critics were not happy to find out that Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – otherwise known as SpaceX – got a multi-million-dollar NASA contract at the same time Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is slashing billions in other government contracts.

'You'll never believe who is still getting new government contracts while all the contracts at the Department of Education and USAID and other agencies are being nuked from orbit,' attorney and researcher Will Stancil wrote on X. He received the tip about the contract from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee and included an image of the contract award information.

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Musk insisted there is no conflict of interest if his companies receive government contracts from the same agencies where he is looking to conduct cuts. 'You have to look at the individual contract,' Musk said, adding that he isn't the individual filing contracts and it's his employees who are bidding to the government.

'If you see any contract where it was awarded to SpaceX and it wasn't by far the best value for the taxpayer, let me know – because every one of them was,' Musk challenged. One X user wrote: 'This is a cartoonishly stupid answer.' 'So let me get this straight, he wants contracts for cancer research cancelled but says let keep contracts for his company Spacex to do research,' Rep. Ilhan Omar posted.

'Greedy billionaire trying to rip off the American people pretending to be altruistic is all I see.' Another user also slammed the recent contract, noting: 'You notice how cutting back government contracts with Tesla and SpaceX isn't on the table or up for discussion? Elon Musk isn't your friend.'

Musk is CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and most recently in 2022 purchased the social media site Twitter and renamed it X. The SpaceX contract was signed Monday, February 10 and gives Musk's company $38,858,978. It was awarded by NASA, which is an independent agency falling within the executive branch. Meanwhile, last week Musk shut down USAID with the agreement of President Donald Trump.