Egos clash in Bezos and Musk space race
PARIS: Even the Milky Way seems too small to keep the egos of tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk from colliding as they vie to conquer space.
Musk aimed low with a recent tweet, saying “can’t get it up (to orbit)” in response to a post about Bezos-founded space company Blue Origin protesting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) choice of Musk’s SpaceX to build a module that will land the next astronauts on the moon.
“This is more than just a battle for space. There is some ego at play as well. This has become even more personal,” said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.
The tech entrepreneurs have each channelled some of their vast fortunes into private space exploration companies.
Musk has a clear lead over Bezos’ Blue Origin. SpaceX has deployed hundreds of satellites into orbit, while a Kuiper satellite network remains Earth-bound despite Bezos pledging US$10 billion in backing.
Amazon has alleged it was shut out of the deal because of a vendetta by former president Donald Trump.
Nasa has developed confidence in
SpaceX, which has been trusted to shuttle supplies and astronauts to the International Space
Station, according to Foundation for Strategic Research space specialist Xavier Pasco.
Bezos has been left to challenge SpaceX here on planet Earth. He announced early this year that he is stepping down as chief executive of Amazon and planned to spend time on other projects, including Blue Origin.
The rivalry between Bezos and Musk comes with out-of-thisworld financial stakes.
Analyst Ives predicted that the “monetisation” of space would launch in earnest soon, with trillions of dollars to be made.
“Bezos and Musk know that the winner of the space battle will be crowned within the next one or two years,” Ives said.