Elon Musk mocks Biden for not acknowledging SpaceX’s all-civilian mission

Elon Musk took a shot at President Joe Biden for not acknowledging the successful completion of the first human spaceflight with only private citizens by SpaceX on Saturday.

When asked by a Twitter follower that why the President has not acknowledged the accomplishment, Musk replied, “He’s still sleeping.”

The Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully returned from orbit on Saturday.

The mission, Inspiration4 mission, had a goal to raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The mission raised $160.2 million while Musk pledged to contribute $50 million, raising a total of $210 million.

Many NASA officials as well as the SpaceX competitors acknowledged the Inspiration4 mission.

"Congratulations #Inspiration4! With today's splashdown, you've helped demonstrate that low-Earth orbit is open for business," tweeted Bill Nelson, the former senator who Biden appointed as NASA administrator.

SpaceX has had a good relationship with the federal government as the company recently won a $2.89 billion contract to build NASA’s next crewed lunar lander.

SpaceX, though, is under investigation by the Department of Justice as it is accused of discriminating job application on the basis on citizenship status. The probe started during the Trump administration.

Tesla CEO Musk has also expressed discontent over a proposal by Biden administration that would allocate $4,500 incentives to buyers of certain electric vehicles on the condition of them being union-made, domestically.

Tesla is the only major U.S. automaker whose production is not unionized.

Earlier this month, Musk tweeted, “This is written by Ford/UAW lobbyists, as they make their electric car in Mexico. Not obvious how this serves American taxpayers.”

(With inputs from CNBC)

Picture Credits: Inspiration4