The founder and owner of the aerospace company Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, may take advantage of the disagreements in the relationship between US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, to strengthen his company's position and secure new government contracts for it, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In June, Bezos spoke with Trump at least twice, and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp met with the White House chief of staff and one of the US leader's closest advisers, Susan Wiles. During these negotiations, among other things, the issue of distributing new government contracts to Bezos' company and the possibility of organizing a manned mission to the moon before the end of Trump's presidential term was raised. Bezos has been “trying to charm Trump“ in recent months. He even invited him to his wedding, which will take place in Venice this week, but the American leader's schedule will not allow him to attend this event, The Wall Street Journal has learned.
Musk, who is the richest man on the planet, was the coordinator of the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) until the end of May and was actually part of Trump's inner circle. However, according to publications in the American press, behind the scenes relations between the president and the businessman began to deteriorate for a number of reasons, including those related to Musk's business interests. After the billionaire left government service, the parties staged a loud public showdown on June 5 via social media. Musk later noted that he regretted his harsh statements about Trump.
Earlier, Politico reported that Musk and Bezos are in a fierce rivalry for supremacy in space exploration. According to the publication's assessment, Blue Origin is SpaceX's closest competitor among American companies, although it lags significantly behind it.