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SpaceX founder Elon Musk is continuing his verbal assault on Transportation Secretary, and acting NASA Administrator, Sean Duffy, claiming his lack of knowledge “undermines the American space program.”
“Having a NASA administrator who knows literally ZERO about rockets [and] spacecraft undermines the American space program and endangers our astronauts,” the world’s richest man alleged Wednesday, in a post on his social media platform X. He did not provide evidence to back up this statement.
“At this point, I am not advocating any particular candidate for NASA Administrator. I am just desperate for someone with a 3-digit IQ,” he added.
Musk also reshared a poll he had conducted asking X users if Duffy was qualified to be running NASA.
“Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?” Musk asked Monday, referring to Duffy’s background as a world champion lumberjack. Of the 190,405 votes, more than 67 percent selected the option “Noo, he need moar brainz!”
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Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has fired insults at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on his social media platform, X, over his intelligence and leadership at NASA (Getty Images)
Musk had previously attacked Duffy’s intelligence, saying Tuesday that the person responsible for the U.S. space program “can’t have a 2-digit IQ.”
The billionaire also reposted a clip from MTV’s The Real World: Boston featuring a shirtless twenty-something Duffy winking to the camera in 1997.
Duffy attempted to smooth over the tension – but also appeared to make a veiled dig at Musk and Space X as he announced that the $2.9 billion contract for NASA’s Artemis III lunar lander would be up for grabs once again. The contract was previously awarded to SpaceX in 2021.
“Love the passion. The race to the moon is ON,” Duffy posted on X Tuesday afternoon. “Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge.”
Duffy also told CNBC Monday that SpaceX was falling “behind.”
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” the DOT secretary said.
Since Duffy’s remarks, Musk has reshared a post calling for Duffy’s ousting, labeled him “Sean ‘Dangerously Stupid’ Dummy,” and responded positively to posts in favor of SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman to take over NASA.
Isaacman, who was backed by Musk, had been the initial pick to head the agency. But President Donald Trump reversed his support last May, citing the billionaire’s political leanings and business ties to Musk, soon after the U.S. leader and billionaire had a very public falling out.
At the time, Isaacman said “some people” had “some axes to grind” in revoking his nomination.
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NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy has not responded directly to Musk’s attacks, but made a veiled dig at the billionaire Tuesday (Getty Images)
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Duffy had interviewed Isaacman earlier this month with a view to him taking over the job.
NASA’s Press Secretary Bethany Stevens did not confirm that the interview took place to The Independent Tuesday, but said Duffy had never stated he wanted to keep the top space job for himself.
“The president asked him to talk with potential candidates for administrator, and he’s been happy to help by vetting people and giving his honest feedback. The bottom line is that Secretary Duffy is here to serve the president, and he will support whomever the president nominates,” Stevens wrote in an email.
It remains unclear when the NASA nomination will take place with the government shut down in its 22nd day.
Musk also attacked Duffy after a Journal report stating the cabinet member planned to fold NASA into the Department of Transportation, accusing him of trying to “kill” the agency.
Stevens told The Independent that Duffy had floated the idea of NASA benefiting from being part of the cabinet, maybe within the Department of Transportation.