Musk blasts NASA's acting administrator: "The person in charge of America's space program can't have only a double-digit IQ."

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Musk launched a fierce attack against the acting head of NASA in the United States.

On Tuesday, SpaceX CEO Musk launched a fierce attack on Sean Duffy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA Administrator, on his social media, saying his "IQ can't be only double digits," and mocking that his "greatest achievement is climbing trees."

The immediate trigger for this war of words is that Duffy is attempting to merge NASA into the Department of Transportation. According to reports, Duffy is meeting with senators to promote the incorporation of NASA under his leadership of the Department of Transportation. Musk then posted:

Idiot Sean is trying to kill NASA!

Later, when Musk reposted a netizen's comment that "Duffy is trying to end NASA's role as an independent agency", he commented:

The person in charge of America's space program can't have just a double-digit IQ.

Previously, Duffy had criticized SpaceX for lagging behind in developing the new lunar lander for NASA astronauts in a TV interview. NASA currently relies entirely on SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and the public confrontation between the two could affect the progress of the U.S. space program.

Progress on SpaceX's lunar lander becomes the trigger

The background of the conflict stems from Duffy's public criticism of SpaceX.

Duffy said in a TV interview on Tuesday that SpaceX was lagging behind in developing the new lunar lander. NASA has been relying on SpaceX to complete the vehicle development before 2027.

After Musk posted that SpaceX's progress was much faster than other space companies, Duffy responded on X:

The lunar landing race has begun. Great companies should not fear challenges. America wins when our innovators compete with each other.

This response immediately triggered a fierce counterattack from Musk. In another post, Musk held a sarcastic poll:

Should someone whose greatest achievement is climbing trees be in charge of America's space program?

Sean Duffy was famous early on as a lumberjack athlete, having won multiple championships in the World Lumberjack Championships, including two 90-foot speed climbing titles and three 60-foot titles. He has also served as a sports commentator.

In 2025, Duffy was appointed as Acting Administrator of NASA. At the same time, he was also appointed as the 20th US Secretary of Transportation.

Technical challenges facing SpaceX

SpaceX's lunar lander project is indeed facing severe challenges.

The vehicle is designed as a variant of the Starship rocket and spacecraft, and SpaceX has been conducting test flights since 2023.

Although SpaceX engineers have made progress on the Starship project, there are still many milestones to be achieved before the vehicle can carry NASA astronauts, such as large-scale fuel transfer in orbit.

NASA said on Monday that SpaceX is required to submit a plan to accelerate the development of the lander by October 29.

The same option is also open to Bezos's Blue Origin, which also holds a contract to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface by the end of the decade.

SpaceX also plans to solicit proposals from other companies on how to send Americans back to the lunar surface.

Lockheed Martin executives said the company is developing an alternative lander that can take two astronauts to the lunar surface.

Rob Chambers, Lockheed Martin's Director of Human Spaceflight Strategy, said in an interview that the company is working with about a dozen companies to develop the rocket, and plans to use existing hardware to accelerate progress.

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