Elon Musk doubles down on shocking claim about 'stranded' NASA astronauts in Joe Rogan interview
We imagine you don't get to become the world's richest man without having to make some pretty tough decisions or by holding your tongue.
Known as someone to speak his mind, Elon Musk has again fired shots at NASA and the situation involving astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.
While Williams has previously insisted they aren't 'stranded', the pair have been stuck aboard the International Space Station since July 2024 when they flew on the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner.
Although the mission was only supposed to take eight days, an issue with their craft meant it was sent back unmanned, and they were marooned in the stars.
Advert
President Donald Trump has called on Musk to 'go get' the astronauts, while NASA has confirmed when their rescue is due to happen.
There's been much debate about when they'll be brought back, with Musk suggesting the Biden administration purposefully left them up there for political reasons. This irked ESA astronaut Andreas Morgensen, who branded Musk a liar for these claims.
In return, Musk called Morgensen an 'idiot', and the whole thing turned into a bit of an internet feud. In one particularly heated exchange, Musk wrote: "You are fully retarded.
SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago.
"I OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused.
"Return WAS pushed back for political reasons. Idiot."
Musk has once again discussed the fates of Williams and Wilmore, this time, giving his own thoughts in an interview with Joe Rogan on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Reiterating his plan to build a civilization on Mars, Musk then addressed the astronauts when Rogan asked if he was still supposed to be rescuing them.
Musk said: "Yeah, that's coming up in a couple of weeks...They were supposed to be up there for like eight days, and they've been up there for like I think eight months, so a little longer than expected."
When Rogan asked what it will be like for the pair trying to adjust to life back on Earth, Musk continued to explain some of the side effects of extended stay in space and referred to the whole situation as 'political football' after the Biden administration supposedly rejected his offer to bring them back much earlier.
Explaining his stance on the situation, the billionaire concluded: "There's no way they're [the Biden administration] going to make anyone who's supporting Trump look good."
Musk went on to say the Biden administration was trying to sue SpaceX for not hiring asylum seekers, so it's clear there's no love lost there.
He claimed that the SpaceX Dragon is the only craft considered safe enough to rescue the astronauts, and while the Russians could've used their own rockets to get them, Musk thinks they would've charged 'crazy' money and used it as a propaganda victory.
It's clear Musk still has a bee in his bonnet about all of this, but at least we're one day closer to getting Williams and Wilmore back on terra firma.