SpaceX CEO Elon Musk eases tensions, no longer threatens Dragon spacecraft withdrawal from ISS

As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk clashed on social media this Thursday, the world’s wealthiest man issued a warning about the potential decommissioning of a space capsule that transports astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. A few hours later, however, Musk backtracked on his threat. The exchange began when Trump hinted at the possibility of cutting government contracts associated with Musk’s SpaceX rocket company and its Starlink internet satellite services. In response, Musk wrote on X that SpaceX would “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.” The seriousness of Musk’s statement was unclear, but several hours later he clarified in a reply to another user that he would not follow through with it.