ELON MUSK has raised tensions with NASA and Boeing as he has accused NASA of shortchanging SpaceX for providing the same services.
NASA has said it gave Boeing an extra $287 million (£222 million) to work on their program designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. Up until now, the space agency has been paying Russia to fly American astronauts to the ISS with NASA already paying almost $4 billion (£3.1 billion) to fly 70 astronauts to the outpost. NASA has been pushing for alternatives however and is set to be pay Boeing $90 million (£69 million) for each astronaut it delivers.
SpaceX is also developing its Crew Dragon capsule for the journey but will only receive $55 million (£42.6 million) for the same trip, which works out as 39 percent less.
Mr Musk has hit out at the disparity and said publicly that Boeing shouldn’t be paid more forgoing the same thing.
“This doesn’t seem right,” Mr Musk tweeted in response to an Ars Technica report on the payment. “Meaning not fair that Boeing gets so much more for the same thing.”
Mr Musk said it was "not fair that Boeing gets so much more for the same thing". (Image: GETTY)
SpaceX is developing its Crew Dragon capsule for the same journey (Image: GETTY)
However, the additional funds paid to Boeing were the result of “fair and open negotiations,” Boeing spokesman Joshua Barrett said.
Boeing has taken on “significantly more up-front financial risk” in the project, and the payments help ensure NASA has the flexibility it needs for adjusting launch dates, he said.
Boeing plans to launch its Starliner to the ISS next month.
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NASA is looking for alternatives to deliver astronauts to the ISS (Image: GETTY)
SpaceX completed its own uncrewed test flight earlier this year it wants to certify its Crew Dragon for human flight in 2020.
The argument over payments comes as Mr Musk gloated that his firm has received a tsunami of orders for the new Cybertruck despite its botched debut that resulted in the vehicle’s shatterproof windows cracking.
The tech mogul tweeted that Tesla had received nearly 200,000 orders for the Cybertruck despite a lacklustre debut on Saturday.
Hours earlier he took to social media to say the vehicle had got 187,000 orders in what appears to be a tally Mr Musk was keen to update the rest of the world on.
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SpaceX wants to certify its Crew Dragon for human flight in 2020 (Image: GETTY)
Mr Musk gloated that his Cybertruck had received a tsunami of orders (Image: GETTY)
The CEO said on Twitter on Saturday: “146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42 percent choosing dual, 41 percent tri & 17 percent single motor.”
Customers are expected to pay a £78 ($100) “preorder fee” he added.
But to actually purchase the Cybertruck, customers also have to take other steps, according to the website.
It reads: “After you submit your completed pre-order and the options you selected become available in production, we will invite you to complete the configuration of your Vehicle.
“We will then issue you the Vehicle Configuration and Final Price Sheet based on the base price of the model and any options included or that you select.”
The so-called preorder fee is less expensive than other Tesla vehicles.
The CEO said on twitter "146k Cybertruck orders so far" (Image: GETTY)
The Model Y SUV requires a £1,937 ($2,500) deposit.
The Model 3 from 2016 asked for a £775 ($1,000) deposit.
Mr Musk said on Twitter the unveiling of the truck would be Tesla’s last “for a while”.