US media: The US government "must retain" most of the contracts with Musk's company

According to the website of Russian news agency Sputnik, citing the Wall Street Journal on July 20, sources revealed that the Trump administration has concluded in the evaluation process of government contracts with Elon Musk's space exploration technology company that it is necessary to retain most of the contracts because they are crucial to the Pentagon and NASA. It was reported that in early June, after a public spat between Trump and Musk, the White House instructed the Department of Defense and NASA to gather detailed information on SpaceX's contracts worth billions of dollars. Days later, the US government initiated a review of the contracts to determine the potential losses if these billion-dollar contracts were to be canceled. One source stated that government officials have determined that they cannot cancel most of these contracts because they are vital to the Department of Defense and NASA. Another source suggested that some of SpaceX's contracts may need further scrutiny. The review highlighted SpaceX's dominance as a leading rocket manufacturer and major supplier of satellite internet globally. After the spat in early June, Trump had threatened to cancel SpaceX's government contracts, and Musk also threatened to retire the Dragon spacecraft - which would have left NASA without the ability to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Musk later retracted his threat, but his statement raised concerns among NASA officials as it pertains to the safety of NASA astronauts. The Pentagon also heavily relies on SpaceX to launch important satellites.