Elon Musk takes aim at Trump ally in explosive NASA leadership feud

Elon Musk has once again stirred controversy, and this time by publicly clashing with a senior Trump administration official over NASA’s leadership.

In a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), the SpaceX CEO called Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy a “dummy”, accusing him of trying to “kill NASA.”

The insult followed a Wall Street Journal report detailing an internal power struggle over who will permanently lead the space agency.

Duffy has been acting head of NASA since July, but Jared Isaacman, a close Musk ally and billionaire pilot who has financed several SpaceX missions, is still lobbying behind the scenes for the top job.

Isaacman’s original nomination was pulled earlier this year amid Musk’s falling-out with the US president, who dismissed Isaacman as a “blue-blooded Democrat.”

Musk has since claimed his friend became “collateral damage” in what he described as his “divorce” from Trump.

Musk further escalated the spat, posting a poll asking whether “someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees” should be running NASA, a jab at Duffy’s past as a champion speed climber.

He added, “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a two-digit IQ.”

The feud intensified after Duffy accused SpaceX of being “behind schedule” on a key NASA moon mission.