Elon Musk Derides President Biden Over Failure To Acknowledge SpaceX's 1st All-Civilian Mission

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday ridiculed U.S. President Joe Biden for failing to acknowledge the efforts of his aerospace company in successfully executing and returning an all-civilian space mission back to earth. 

What Happened: Musk, who also heads Tesla Inc. TSLA, replying to a Twitter user who asked for views on Biden not acknowledging the four newest American astronauts, said the U.S. president is "still sleeping."

He’s still sleeping

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2021

Billionaire rivals such as Amazon.com Inc AMZN founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc’s SPCE Sir Richard Branson have congratulated Musk and SpaceX for the successful Inspiration4 mission.

Top National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials, Boeing Co BA and Lockheed Martin LMT too have made similar gestures on social media. 

Congratulations, #Inspiration4! With today's splashdown, you've helped demonstrate that low-Earth orbit is open for business.

— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) September 19, 2021

See Also: Why Was Tesla Not Invited To Biden's EV Event?

SpaceX landed four civilian astronauts back on earth after a three-day flight along the earth’s orbit. 

Why It Matters: Biden’s administration had in August hosted an event related to the future of electric vehicle sales in the United States. While key automotive executives were invited to the event, Musk and his electric vehicle company Tesla were left out. 

Just last week, Musk had expressed displeasure over a new proposal from Biden's team that would allocate extra incentives to union-made electric vehicles. Tesla is the only major U.S. automaker whose production is not unionized.

See Also: Elon Musk Hits Out At Ford For Mexico EV Production, Says Doesn't Serve 'American Taxpayers'

The move is expected to work in favor of legacy automakers such as Ford Motor Co F, General Motors Co (NYSE: GM and others who have workers represented by the United Auto Workers.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 0.33% higher at $759.49 on Friday.

Photo: Courtesy of SpaceX