Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, took aim at President Joe Biden after the historic private spaceflight.
Musk was asked by one of his 60 million Twitter followers, "Why has the President of the United States refused to acknowledge the 4 newest American astronauts that helped raise hundreds of millions for St. Jude?" Is that why?
Musk responded, "He's still asleep."
CNBC reported that SpaceX successfully returned its Crew Dragon spacecraft to Earth yesterday. After three days in space, the capsule brought the four members from the Inspiration4 mission to Earth.
The Inspiration4 mission had one major goal: to raise $200 million to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. By Saturday, it had raised $160.2million. Musk, celebrating the success of Inspiration4, pledged $50 million to help bring the total campaign to $210 million.
SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond when we asked for comment.
NASA's top officials congratulate Musk and SpaceX for the Inspiration4 mission. SpaceX rivals also acknowledged it, with praises from Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, and Musk's peer, Jeff Bezos, shared via social media.
This was the first SpaceX private spaceflight with a non-professional crew. The mission also featured the first Black woman to be a SpaceX spacecraft pilot, the youngest American astronaut, and the first person with prosthetics to fly in space.
Musk said recently that he "would rather stay out of politics", but his Sunday quip indicated that he was willing to poke at the Democratic president and repeat a rightwing slur about Biden.
Former President Donald Trump often called Biden "Sleepy Joe" during his 2020 campaign.
Trump also sent Biden sarcastic wishes ahead of the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an email, he stated that he was wishing Biden good luck in his dealings with President Putin. He also requested that he send him his warmest regards.
SpaceX has a positive relationship with the federal government. It won a contract worth $2.89 billion to build NASA's next lunar lander crewed. This beat Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Dynetics subsidiary Dynetics and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. SpaceX has also flown 10 astronauts to NASA's ISS to date.
The Department of Justice is now investigating SpaceX for discrimination against applicants for jobs based on citizenship status. This probe began under the Trump administration.
Musk is also responsible for SpaceX and the CEO of Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer. (Tesla also supplies SpaceX.
He recently blasted a Biden administration proposal which would provide an additional $4,500 in incentives for buyers of certain electric light-duty passenger cars. The proposal stipulates that domestically-made electric vehicles must be union-made.
Tesla is the only major U.S. automaker that does not have a unionized production.
Musk stated on Twitter, September 12, 2012, that the proposal was written by Ford/UAW lobbyists as they manufacture their electric car in Mexico. It's not clear how this will benefit American taxpayers.
Cars.com's 2021 American Made Index ranked Tesla's Model 3 electric sedan as the top-ranked vehicle, while its Model Y crossover came in third.
