The relationship between former US President Donald Trump and his once-allied Tesla founder Elon Musk has yet to be reconciled.
On the local time of the 6th, Trump said that he had no intention of contacting Musk proactively and was still considering canceling his government contracts.
"We will fully evaluate the situation. This is a huge subsidy," Trump said, adding that it would only happen "if it is fair to Musk and the nation."
Elon Musk's SpaceX and satellite internet service provider Starlink have long relied on federal contracts and subsidies. It was reported that SpaceX had received over $22 billion in undisclosed contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since 2000.
However, even if Trump decided to cut this interest tie, practical operations faced many obstacles.
A困局 in Interest Cutting
Since Trump took office, Musk's enterprises have continued to secure key contracts from the U.S. government.
In March this year, NASA announced an amendment to SpaceX's launch contract signed with the Starbase in Texas, incorporating the company's Starship into the launch services system. In the same month, the U.S. Commerce Department made significant policy adjustments to the Biden administration's "Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment" (BEAD) plan. The new regulations could increase Starlink's share of the program from $4 billion to $20 billion. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also announced the cancellation of a $2.4 billion agreement with Verizon Communications, transferring the upgrade of air traffic control infrastructure and flight path contracts to Starlink.
However, as Trump fell out with Musk, this interest bond also came under threat. On Thursday, Trump bluntly stated: "The simplest way to save billions in budget is to terminate Elon's government subsidies and contracts. I've always been surprised that Biden hasn't taken action!"
White House officials clarified the next day that apart from posting messages, Trump had not taken any substantial actions, emphasizing that Trump's current priority was advancing economic agendas rather than engaging in a feud with Musk. In fact, during Biden's presidency, there were concerns about the defense contracts and confidential information access granted to Musk's companies. However, cutting ties between the U.S. government and Musk's business empire was difficult, especially regarding SpaceX.
It was reported that SpaceX's advantages in the space launch sector were temporarily insurmountable. Its Falcon 9 rocket carried out 84% of America's satellite launches last year, and its reusable technology made it the first choice for military and intelligence agency space missions. Over 7,000 Starlink satellites accounted for 65% of operational satellites in orbit in the U.S.
Todd Harrison, a senior researcher at the American Enterprise Institute and a space defense expert, said that although unilateral severance of cooperation was unrealistic, if it happened, it would quickly lead to a backlog in U.S. military satellite launches and halt projects by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
For NASA, the situation was more severe. Since the retirement of the space shuttle program in 2011, Boeing's "Starliner" has repeatedly failed to deliver reliable capacity. Apart from SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, NASA had no other ready alternative to reach the International Space Station. In March this year, two astronauts were stranded at the International Space Station for months due to a malfunction in Boeing's spacecraft, ultimately relying on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft for their return.
David Burbach, associate professor at the Naval War College and space policy expert, believed that losing SpaceX "basically means the U.S. will no longer participate in the space station program." If the White House forcibly takes over using the Defense Production Act, "it might trigger some truly intense actions."
In addition, if Trump and Musk completely broke off relations, then Trump's strongly promoted "Golden Dome" missile defense system would also be affected. Although details of the plan have not been disclosed, reports indicated that SpaceX was likely to receive a contract for hundreds of missile detection satellites, which could not only warn of ballistic missile threats but also possess space interception capabilities. If relations soured, this strategic project might be put on hold.
However, Musk's commercial aerospace empire was not without challenges. United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket made its first launch last year, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin's "New Glenn" rocket launched for the first time this January. However, these rockets lacked the long-term success records of SpaceX launchers and were more expensive, making it unlikely they could catch up in the short term.
A Huge Crack in the MAGA Coalition
Last year, Musk founded a super Political Action Committee (PAC), "American PAC," to support Trump's re-election campaign, donating $277 million throughout the election cycle, becoming one of the largest single donors to the Republican Party. Now, Musk is attempting to counter Trump and the Republicans with political and financial threats.
Over the past two days, Musk initiated a poll on his social platform, which has 220 million followers, to test the feasibility of forming a new political party called the "America Party," with 80% of participants voting in favor. He also threatened to challenge Republicans who supported the "Great America Bill," such as fiercely criticizing House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Musk also asked the "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" coalition to choose between him and Trump, stating: "Trump has 3.5 years left in his presidential term, but I will exist for over 40 years."
"This is a huge crack in the MAGA coalition," said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration official. Traditional Democratic and Republican red-blue confrontations are evolving into a "madness versus madness" melee.
According to multiple polls, before the clash began, their support rates were very similar. For example, a poll conducted by the University of California, Riverside in April showed that Trump and Musk had similar support rates across the entire political spectrum; the difference within the Republican Party was only 4 percentage points (Trump 84% vs. Musk 80%), and both had 7% support among Democrats. However, a recent survey by YouGov on the 5th showed that when forced to choose between the two, 28% of voters chose Trump, while only 8% chose Musk.
Regarding this dispute, Republicans in Congress collectively remained silent. Richard Hudson, responsible for Republican campaign affairs in the House, expressed hope that the storm would "quickly subside," while Chip Roy, another congressman who also believed that the "Great America Bill" should reduce spending, indirectly criticized Musk for overstepping boundaries, saying Musk needed to "do things with moderation."
In addition, Republicans began to question the effect of Musk's financial contributions. According to data from the Federal Election Commission, Musk's super PAC "American PAC" invested $19.2 million last year to support Republican House elections, but its funded 18 key districts only won 10 seats, accounting for only 12% of external expenditures by Republicans. It was reported that some Republicans said they were already preparing for next year's midterm elections without Musk's funding.
In late March to early April, Musk spent nearly $25 million in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election but failed to reverse the conservative defeat. Reports showed that the Trump team complained that Musk had promised to provide $100 million for Trump's political operations, but it has yet to materialize until now.
Last month, Musk said he planned to cut overall political spending, stating that he "didn't see a reason" to continue investing in politics.
(This article is from Yicai Global.)
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7513029852467872307/
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