Elon Musk has come under fire once again as people have pointed out the irony of his cost-cutting DOGE role, while his company SpaceX has benefitted from government contracts.
Musk was appointed the head of the US government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Donald Trump, set up to 'dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies'.
Trump confirmed his plans for the 'department' - which acts more like an advisory body - following his election win in November.
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Already, it's ironic that the world's richest man has been given a role to help cut spending.
Yet, so far this year, Musk's own SpaceX has been awarded a total of $57,460,047 from NASA - funded from the federal budget.
The US' Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) shows one contract, issued on January 17, was valued at $18,874,069, while a second, signed off earlier this month on February 10, came in at $38,858,978.
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In fact, SpaceX is NASA's second-largest private provider, racking up a contracted worth $2.25 billion from the agency in the fiscal year of 2024, as per Statista.
Will Stancil, an attorney and researcher, took to Musk's social media platform X to point out the hypocrisy.
"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," he wrote, sharing a screenshot from the FPDS.
Another wrote: "Elon Musk, a man whose fortune exists because of billions in taxpayer funding, now sneers at the very idea of federal programs... The irony isn’t just grotesque—it’s the defining hypocrisy of the ultra-wealthy."
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A third said: "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."
It comes as NASA's acting administrator Janet Petro confirmed on Wednesday (February 12) that DOGE would examine the space agency's spending, explaining: "We are going to have DOGE come. They're going to look - similarly what they've done in other agencies - at our payments and what money has gone out."
She added that 'hundreds' of NASA employees had accepted a proposed buyout from the Trump administration.
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On whether Musk's involvement with DOGE presents conflicts of interest at NASA, Petro said 'we have very strict conflict of interest policies,' adding the agency's legal office would vet any DOGE employee for such conflicts, Reuters reported.
SpaceX has been awarded some major NASA contracts over the years, including, in June, a contract of up to $843,000,000 to help destroy the International Space Station when it finally de-orbits from 2030 onwards.
The company will also help bring back astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore who are currently stranded on the ISS,
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UNILAD has contacted SpaceX for comment.
Topics: Space X, NASA, Elon Musk, International Space Station, Donald Trump, Politics
Ellie Kemp