Good for SpaceX, they can charge a lot more to get that expedited
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mspohr
Well-Known Member
Elon Musk Dominates Space Launch. Rivals Are Calling Foul. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/...h-competition.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
But in one striking way, the former outsider has come to resemble the entrenched contractors he once fought to topple: He is increasingly using his vast power and influence to try to keep emerging rivals at bay, his competitors say, even as his success is prompting qualms within the government about such heavy reliance on a mercurial billionaire.
Mr. Musk endorsed an antisemitic theory late last year on his social media platform X. He has nurtured relationships with right-wing leaders around the world. And he has publicly stated that Russia will not lose its war against Ukraine, endorsing an argument that the United States should not have provided Kyiv with additional military assistance.
The new generation of space entrepreneurs trying to emulate Mr. Musk is sufficiently concerned about what they see as his anticompetitive tactics that some of them are now willing to take him on publicly.
Elon Musk’s rhetoric and behavior undermines his credibility and reliability on a global scale,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who this spring questioned Pentagon officials about Mr. Musk. “Commercial services, including SpaceX, that do business with the U.S. government need to be thoroughly vetted to ensure that the U.S. military can depend on them in times of crisis.”
Elon Musk’s rhetoric and behavior undermines his credibility and reliability on a global scale,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who this spring questioned Pentagon officials about Mr. Musk. “Commercial services, including SpaceX, that do business with the U.S. government need to be thoroughly vetted to ensure that the U.S. military can depend on them in times of crisis.”
But in one striking way, the former outsider has come to resemble the entrenched contractors he once fought to topple: He is increasingly using his vast power and influence to try to keep emerging rivals at bay, his competitors say, even as his success is prompting qualms within the government about such heavy reliance on a mercurial billionaire.
Mr. Musk endorsed an antisemitic theory late last year on his social media platform X. He has nurtured relationships with right-wing leaders around the world. And he has publicly stated that Russia will not lose its war against Ukraine, endorsing an argument that the United States should not have provided Kyiv with additional military assistance.
The new generation of space entrepreneurs trying to emulate Mr. Musk is sufficiently concerned about what they see as his anticompetitive tactics that some of them are now willing to take him on publicly.
Elon Musk’s rhetoric and behavior undermines his credibility and reliability on a global scale,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who this spring questioned Pentagon officials about Mr. Musk. “Commercial services, including SpaceX, that do business with the U.S. government need to be thoroughly vetted to ensure that the U.S. military can depend on them in times of crisis.”
Elon Musk’s rhetoric and behavior undermines his credibility and reliability on a global scale,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who this spring questioned Pentagon officials about Mr. Musk. “Commercial services, including SpaceX, that do business with the U.S. government need to be thoroughly vetted to ensure that the U.S. military can depend on them in times of crisis.”
Quote from that article:
And yet…
The only criticism in that article that may be true is:
So, one persons opinion. I can’t judge if it is valid or not. But would SpaceX employees really call potential customers and “berate” them for doing business with a competitor? Seems counterproductive; not a way to win their business in the future.
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I agree with ecarfan that one anecdotal statement from a rival is far from true evidence. SpaceX is dominating in pricing because they have reusable boosters, which was a hard fought achievement. It took a decade of very hard work from SpaceX employees to do this. It isn't Elon himself doing things alone as this point wants to spin this.
I am far from liking Elon's haphazard responses on X/Twitter. I personally think it is an aspect of his autism that he fails to see the ramifications and destructiveness of his casually responsive posts. The list of those is quite long and getting longer (the famous 420 post is a prime example). That said, I really don't think he is antisemitic, or necessarily even likes the authoritarian leaders he is forced to associate with for his global businesses, and there is no chance he likes or prefers Russia over Ukraine as this article wants to imply.
SpaceX has been very accommodating to the US Government and has been "vetted" thoroughly to even be able to do the launches they have done for NASA, NRO, and the military. It is absurd to think otherwise. I expect the Senator doesn't know much about the company and its business but is commenting about it anyway. I expect I know (and many others here) know more about SpaceX than the Senator does.
JMHO.
I searched for "Tim Ellis complaint SpaceX", and got the same article at the New York Times and Seattle Times, with a third outlet (Yahoo News Canada) using the title but writing their own article. A fourth, The Daily Beast had this quote:
As the CEO in Margin Call said, "Be First, Be Smarter, or Cheat". The competition is claiming that they're cheating. We know they were first (by a wide margin). I doubt they're smarter, but Elon seems to be a vastly better strategic thinker.
As the CEO in Margin Call said, "Be First, Be Smarter, or Cheat". The competition is claiming that they're cheating. We know they were first (by a wide margin). I doubt they're smarter, but Elon seems to be a vastly better strategic thinker.
“Developed with the support of the Russian Federation” is quite different than “for Russia”.
What that means is: DPRK bought satellite tech from Russia. I’d guess they bought some old generation imager, though I could see it being the whole satellite too (and some level of supporting documentation and equipment). Think Mr. Potatohead, but a space gizmo. (Comrade Matryoshka? I digress…)
It’s a 300kg sat which, given the likely era of tech, is probably 2-3m resolution. Current US tech is an order of magnitude better and Russian tech probably isnt too far behind. I’d go so far as to speculate that whatever Russia sold has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for a long time, and this program was probably a low risk way for Russia to clean out the warehouse, make a buck, and piss off the US all at the same time.
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