SpaceX Rakes in Billions While Musk’s DOGE Slashes Federal Spending

SpaceX: The Government’s Favorite Private Contractor?

Elon Musk has never been one to turn down a lucrative deal—especially when it comes from Uncle Sam. While his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative is hacking away at federal budgets like a chainsaw through bureaucracy, his flagship aerospace company, SpaceX, is cashing in on some of the most lucrative government contracts ever awarded.

Let’s talk numbers. SpaceX’s federal contracts doubled in the early Biden years, skyrocketing from $1.1 billion in 2020 to $2.2 billion in 2021. And in the 2024 fiscal year? A whopping $3.7 billion in taxpayer money went straight into SpaceX’s war chest.

That’s just one of Musk’s ventures. If you add up all the government funding SpaceX and Tesla have received over the past decade, you get $18 billion in federal contracts. NASA alone has poured over $13 billion into SpaceX, making it the second-largest contractor for the space agency.

DOGE: Austerity for Thee, Billions for Me

At the same time that SpaceX is thriving on federal dollars, Musk’s DOGE initiative is steamrolling government spending elsewhere. Since its inception, DOGE has been on a rampage through federal budgets, gutting programs across multiple agencies:

• The Department of Education? Slashed. DOGE axed 89 contracts worth $881 million, many tied to critical education research and evaluations.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives? Gone. In the first two weeks alone, DOGE reportedly eliminated $1 billion worth of DEI-related contracts across 30 federal agencies.
• Famine relief, medical research, and clinical trials? On the chopping block. Funding for efforts to combat hunger and develop new treatments for diseases like cancer has been significantly reduced.

Conflict of Interest? Just Business as Usual

Of course, not everyone is thrilled with this financial balancing act. Ethics watchdogs are raising red flags over Musk’s dual role as a businessman and a government official. On one hand, his companies are raking in billions from federal contracts; on the other, he’s leading a federal agency that’s busy gutting spending on social services.

When pressed on the apparent contradiction, Musk brushed off concerns. His response? His companies offer “value” to America.

What’s Next? More Rockets, More Scrutiny

As DOGE continues to bulldoze federal spending, expect more scrutiny on where the remaining money is going. With SpaceX’s government contracts ballooning, critics are likely to demand answers.

For now, one thing is clear: Elon Musk isn’t just running a space company—he’s reshaping how government spending works, and he’s making sure his companies come out on top.