Feuding publicly with Trump, Musk says SpaceX should retire the Dragon spacecraft.

Elon Musk announced that he will terminate SpaceX's operation of the Dragon spacecraft, which is used to transport goods and personnel to the International Space Station. This has escalated the ongoing dispute between the billionaire and U.S. President Trump over the past few days. The Dragon spacecraft is the main vehicle used by the company to send astronauts and cargo into orbit. SpaceX has signed multi-billion dollar contracts with NASA to regularly transport the agency's astronauts to and from the International Space Station, helping NASA maintain a continuous presence on the ISS until the end of 2030. After Musk made this commitment, Trump threatened to cancel Musk's government contracts. The reason for this threat was Musk's continuous criticism of the President's tax legislation on his social media platform "X." It is unclear what Musk means by "retiring" the Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX also uses the Dragon spacecraft for commercial missions separate from those carried out for NASA. The company has conducted six private astronaut missions with the Dragon spacecraft, some for free flight in orbit and some to the International Space Station. Around June 10th, SpaceX is scheduled to launch another private astronaut mission with the Dragon spacecraft in partnership with Axiom Space, sending four civilians to the International Space Station. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens stated on X that the agency will "continue to advance the President's vision" and collaborate with industry partners. If SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft suddenly stops operating, NASA would face serious challenges in its space station projects, as it is the only U.S. vehicle available to transport astronauts to the ISS. NASA also relies on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to regularly transport American astronauts to the space station, in addition to being a major choice for maintaining food and supply deliveries to the station. NASA may have another option to use Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to transport astronauts to the space station. However, the spacecraft has not yet been certified for manned flights due to a mishap in a test flight in 2024, which caused two astronauts to stay on the ISS longer than planned by several months. Due to engine malfunctions with the Starliner, NASA handed this mission over to the space exploration technology company, which used the Dragon spacecraft to return the astronauts to Earth. SpaceX has also signed a contract with NASA to manufacture a spacecraft similar to the Dragon spacecraft, responsible for removing the International Space Station from orbit. The specific progress of these plans is currently unknown.