Musk and Bezos Get Their Billion-Dollar Federal Contracts After Sucking Up to Trump
Billions of dollars in federal contracts have been awarded to Elon Musk's and Jeff Bezos' companies, solidifying the ties between two of the world's richest men and President Donald Trump.
The United States Space Force, the military branch Trump created during his first term, has awarded both Blue Origin and SpaceX massive government contracts: almost $6 billion for Musk, and $2.3 billion for Bezos.
Musk's company was the top awardee for national security contracts, which SpaceX confirmed on Monday would 'include a mix of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and will take place over a five-year period.'
Bezos' Blue Origin has attempted to become a direct competitor with SpaceX—though the two companies are miles apart in terms of impact. Musk's company held over 130 launches last year in comparison to the Amazon founder's four.
Musk took a jab at Blue Origin after Space Force's announcement, claiming that the other companies 'aren't there' in terms of completing missions.
'Winning 60% of the missions may sound generous, but the reality is that all SpaceX competitors combined cannot currently deliver the other 40%,' Musk wrote on X. 'I hope they succeed, but they aren't there yet.'
Blue Origin's CEO, however, has a different viewpoint.
'We are committed to meeting the heavy lift needs of our U.S. DoD and intelligence agency customers,' Dave Limp posted Friday.
Both of the billionaires, however, have shown their allegiance to President Trump in recent weeks.
Both had front-row tickets to the president's inauguration in January, and Musk has since become one of Trump's closest advisers.
Bezos and Musk have Trump-proofed their other businesses, too. The Amazon billionaire seemingly tightened the leash on coverage of the administration in The Washington Post after Trump's inauguration, the latest drama in the storied newsroom after Bezos banned the paper from endorsing a presidential candidate late last year.
The decision singlehandedly caused hundreds of thousands of subscribers to jump ship, decimating the newspaper's business. Alongside its customer exodus, multiple reporters and editors have left.
Musk, on the other hand, has used his social media platform, X, as a microphone for amplifying the president's agenda.
The two have also kissed the ring when it comes to political donations. Bezos' Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, while Musk donated a whopping $288 million.
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