Trump-Musk row fuels 'biggest crisis ever' at Nasa
Trump criticises billionaire's Twitter deal
The US president has criticised Elon Musk's recently-completed deal to take over Twitter, citing concerns about freedom of expression. In a speech on Thursday, Trump claimed that Musk - who is a major investor in Tesla and SpaceX - had bought the platform to sideline criticism from the president's political allies. "I hope everybody's ready for Twitter to become a bastion of negatively oriented news, because that's all they're going to be able to have," Trump said. He added that the platform would be "hijacked" by "very strange people", and warned that "the whole country" would soon be in "serious trouble". Twitter had previously suspended Trump's account after the January 6 Capitol Hill riot.
What does this mean for NASA?
The controversy comes at a sensitive time for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which has been embroiled in a funding row with the US government. Trump's criticisms of the agency have prompted concerns of a wider political influence on scientific matters. NASA has been criticised for its involvement in a perceived "war on wokeism", with the agency's top climate change adviser, Gavin Schmidt, announcing his resignation last year following the controversy. The Biden administration has sought to reassure scientists concerned about political interference that they will be able to speak freely, and robustly, on climate change. In late April, NASA will also be putting the first of its new lunar vehicles on the surface of the Moon, with the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission scheduled to take off on 8th November 2022. The vehicle is intended to eventually serve as a lunar taxi, transporting humans to the surface of the Moon.
Conflict of interest concerns
Some observers have also expressed concern at the potential for Musk's entrepreneurial interests to clash with his stewardship of Twitter. Musk's various companies - including Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink - have previously received favourable coverage on Twitter, whilst his critics claim he will look to muzzle alternative viewpoints. The Tesla CEO has rejected these criticisms, stating his goal is to "make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans." He added that "Twitter should be honest about all forms of political speech," and that he wanted to transform the platform into a location for "freedom of speech for all". However, his plans have already come under significant scrutiny, with current CEO Parag Agrawal and former CEO Jack Dorsey among those to express concerns about the future of the platform under Musk's ownership.
