this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
229 points (97.1% liked)

politics

23920 readers
3506 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, on Thursday said his company SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft after he engaged in an extraordinary public fallout with Donald Trump who had threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses.

“In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” Musk posted on the social media platform X, which he owns.

A few minutes earlier Trump had posted on Truth Social – the media platform that he owns – that he might cancel huge lucrative contracts with Musk’s businesses, which include the SpaceX company that is building a fleet of rockets.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] timeghost@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago

Weird how he imagines Drump gives a fuck about space.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 84 points 1 day ago (17 children)

Aaaaaand...this is why you don't outsource this kind of shit to private interests. At any point, they can just pick up their ball and go home. Now all the money they invested in SpaceX just gets flushed down the drain. The government winds up with nothing to show for it.

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 11 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Which is strange because in my world where the govt pays for my work they own all my work as I make it.

It’s “weird” how the big boys get different rules

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

That's because...technically...the government mostly provides contracts to SpaceX to take their stuff to and from orbit. They're basically paying for a service...not investing in SpaceX's product development. Even though that is an indirect result of giving them those contracts.

It's like hiring a landscaper to do your lawn. They come with their own equipment, so even though they bought it using the money you pay them...you don't own any of it. They do.

[–] tfm@europe.pub 2 points 5 hours ago

Sounds like corruption 101

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 17 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

The American space program has literally always run this way. NASA decides mission and requirements, private industry sells them rockets they usually then modify and perform their own checks and maintainence on.

The problem is that that system is predicated on having a functioning aerospace industry with multiple competitors you can go to instead of just one company with a viable product thanks the ravages of neoliberalism.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago

Except that NASA is a nationally owned branch of the government. They answer directly to the executive branch and are funded by Congress. They are not a "company". They are a government agency.

[–] baronvonj@lemmy.world 36 points 23 hours ago (4 children)

The federal government can just national security/eminent domain take that shit.

[–] SpaceShort@feddit.uk 0 points 6 hours ago

And set up a conflict between the bourgeoisie and the Trump administration.

[–] 3abas@lemm.ee 12 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I've said this a long ago and kept getting downvoted... I'm all for kicking Elon by making fun of the CyberTruck and calling everything be touches shit, but Tesla and SpaceX have some of the smartest engineers in the world and they made a lot of good technology that would be too sad to throw away because a Nazi capitalist owned the companies.

Normalize the idea of nationalizing Tesla and SpaceX, we can actually get there.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 hours ago

And a lot of it paid for by the government at least space x. Tesla not so sure about there are many dumb designs with Tesla. Like allowing people to burn in them because they can't get out.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 26 points 23 hours ago

Now that would be HILARIOUS

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago

Well, kind of, but the problem here is Trump saying he will cancel the contracts.

SpaceX would be bound by their contracts, so if they are signed and Trump does not rip them up, then Elon cannot just walk away.

load more comments (13 replies)
[–] RedditAdminsSuckIt@lemmy.world 76 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Gonna need a megathread for this fallout. They are at each other.

-Calls for Impeachment

-Decommissioning contracts

-Naming in Epstein files

-ICE rounding up musk

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 31 points 1 day ago

That last point would be beautiful

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You forgot Musk leaking all the snooped data he's collected from all the White House staff traversing his Starlink dish on the White House roof. Anyone know what the over/under for number of christian conservative senior White House officials found actively using Grindr?

[–] ExtantHuman@lemm.ee 4 points 14 hours ago

He didn't threaten this one though. The other four were actual posts by the two idiots

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why grope an aide when you can Grindr?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 41 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Say goodbye to human spaceflight for an entire generation. We made a huge mistake hitching everything onto this fucker's stuff.

I've been waiting for us to leave LEO since I was a kid in the 80s and it now looks like I might be dying without ever having witnessed even a moon landing. I envy my parents.

Unless China or India or Russia pull something off. They're all we have after this.

[–] ExtantHuman@lemm.ee 4 points 14 hours ago

China is already testing a starship clone.

We've seen it works. It can be reengineered. Not that they'd be allowed to just ignore their contract like that. They'd forcefully remove the company from him before that happened.

[–] Gsus4@mander.xyz 25 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

Can't the admin simply seize SpaceX, if it is that important to "national security"? If elon complains, deport him and nationalize his stuff on the grounds that he got his citizenship under illegal pretenses (illegal immigrant).

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They certainly could. I don’t think it’s a terrible idea either - Elon is not stable enough to handle the decision making for national security tech.

[–] No_Eponym@lemmy.ca 7 points 16 hours ago

I mean, the current national security advisor doesn't seem stable enough to handle the decision making either. It's unsurprising that E-Mu fit in fine with this administration until recently.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (7 children)

I think you mean for the west. China has its own rockets and space station and I imagine they aren't stopping just cause SpaceX decided to shoot itself in the foot.

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] GuyFawkes@midwest.social 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

Need Musk to start talking about how he rigged the voting machines…

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 15 points 23 hours ago

I just hope they both come out of this knowing that nobody gives a shit about either one of them

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can't retire if you never worked.

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The dragon capsule worked though? You may be thinking of starliner, which is Boeing.

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (9 children)

I'm thinking of Starship.

So Elon's cancelling the thing that works, but not the giant firecracker?

[–] ExtantHuman@lemm.ee 3 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The thing that works is currently being used by NASA to get astronauts to and from the ISS. The threat was aimed at messing up NASA's current plans after Donald threatened to toss the SpaceX contracts.

There no contract for starship yet. They may have gotten a grant for future development or something. But it's only a potential tool for the Artemis missions in the future

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Seems like running a national space program that depends on a private company run by a petulant child is a bad idea.

[–] ExtantHuman@lemm.ee 0 points 4 hours ago

NASA has always relied upon contractors to do all the actual construction.

And luckily that permanent child just owns it. They made him step much farther away from running it after his smoking weed live on a podcast.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's bed time in the UK, can someone keep me updated with the shitshow whilst I sleep?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›