Elon Musk has thrown slurs at an astronaut who called him out for a ‘lie’ about the NASA astronauts that are currently stuck on the International Space Station.
In an interview with Fox News, Musk claimed that the two NASA astronauts, Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, had been left in space ‘for political reasons’.
The pair arrived at the ISS in June 2024 in what was meant to be an eight day mission but have been stuck there ever since after their spacecraft experienced major faults.
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Since then, Williams and Wilmore have been watching for the arrival of a SpaceX spacecraft to bring them home.
During the interview, it was stated that the astronauts were meant to be in space for eight days but it has been ‘almost 300’.
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In response, President Donald Trump simply said: “Biden.”
Reposting the clip on X, formerly Twitter, astronaut and former SpaceX pilot Andreas Mogensen criticized the comment made by Musk, writing: “What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media.”
The Tesla boss shocked people on social media with his response as he wrote back: “You are fully r*******. SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago. I OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused. Return WAS pushed back for political reasons. Idiot.”
Mogensen replied: “Elon, I have long admired you and what you have accomplished, especially at SpaceX and Tesla.
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“You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September.”
Williams and Wilmore are expected to return to Earth next month along with the astronauts from the SpaceX Crew-9 who will be ending their mission in March.
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The NASA astronauts ran into trouble with their spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, after they experienced faults with its propulsion system.
Five of the spacecraft’s maneuvering thrusters had reportedly stalled, with five helium leaks and a faulty propellant valve.
However, the pair have remained optimistic about their eventual return.
Speaking to CNN, Williams said: “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.
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“We knew that we would probably find some things [wrong with Starliner] and we found some stuff, and so that was not a surprise.”