Observations suggest that the conflict between U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk could undermine U.S. national security.
President Trump and CEO Musk are exchanging mutual accusations regarding the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA)' promoted by President Trump.
The main essence of OBBA is to extend major tax cut provisions, such as reducing corporate and income tax rates and expanding deductions for minor children, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
The bill also includes significant increases in government expenditure for defense budgets and border security budgets, as well as support for savings accounts for children born between 2024 and 2028.
While reducing government revenue, it effectively increases expenditure, leading to analyses that U.S. liabilities could rise by as much as $5 trillion (approximately 6,793 trillion won).
CEO Musk wrote on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "OBBA is disgusting and abhorrent," adding, "A bankrupt America is not okay. Kill the Bill."
In response, President Trump said he was "very disappointed," noting, "Elon (CEO Musk’s first name) and I had a good relationship. I don’t know if our relationship is good anymore."
He argued that Musk's opposition to the bill is due to provisions that reduce tax credits related to electric vehicles.
He then stated, "I removed his electric vehicle mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody wants," asserting that "the easiest way to save billions of dollars is to terminate Elon’s subsidies and contracts."
CEO Musk retorted, "Sure, go ahead" and stated, "In response to the president's remarks about contract cancellation, SpaceX will immediately begin the withdrawal of the Dragon spacecraft."
CEO Musk also commented with "Yes" on a post suggesting impeachment for Trump and replacing him with Vice President J.D. Vance.
It is pointed out that the intensification of the conflict between the two could threaten contracts between the U.S. government and SpaceX, which could impact U.S. national security, as there are no suitable alternatives to fill SpaceX's void.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), SpaceX's 'Crew Dragon' spacecraft is currently the only U.S. spacecraft authorized to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The current contract scale is $4.9 billion (approximately 6.6 trillion won).
The U.S. gained the capability to send astronauts to the ISS independently with the arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft in 2020. However, if the Dragon spacecraft withdraws, the U.S. will have to rely on Russia to send astronauts to the ISS.
Since retiring three space shuttles in 2011, the U.S. has not had a spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the ISS, relying for nearly a decade on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft for launches.
Additionally, Crew Dragon has been involved in missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and has secured $22 billion (approximately 30 trillion won) in contracts with the Ministry of National Defense and NASA since 2000.
It has also been analyzed that SpaceX’s responsibility for satellite launches could adversely impact military capabilities, including the launch of reconnaissance satellites for the U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Furthermore, changes to the missile defense system construction plan 'Golden Dome,' promoted by President Trump, are also expected, and the Starlink satellite internet system from SpaceX is difficult to replace, leading to anticipated disruptions in various military and space projects.
Peter Hayes, a senior lecturer at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, told Bloomberg News, "Musk has launched more satellites than anyone else in the world combined," adding, "It's not easy to just say, 'Now that you don't like me, I won't work with you.'"