Jeff Bezos speaks to Trump as he seeks more govt contracts for Blue Origin

The efforts by Bezos and his team came days after a fallout was witnessed between Trump and Musk in early June. Musk, who was once the closest ally of Trump and served as one of his top advisers

Blue Origin founder, Jeff Bezos, spoke with US President Donald Trump at least twice this month, as the former looks to capitalise on the feud between Trump and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, to secure more government contracts.

 

Along with Bezos speaking to Trump, Blue Origin’s Chief Executive Officer, Dave Limp, met with Trump’s chief of staff at the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported.

 

The efforts by Bezos and his team came days after fallout was witnessed between Trump and Musk in early June. Elon Musk, who was once the closest ally of Trump and served as one of his top advisers, criticised the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ by the Trump administration and calling it a spending package that would inflate the deficit and undo efforts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), once headed by him. 

 

Disagreement between the two escalated after Trump responded by expressing his disappointment with Musk and threatening the latter by cancelling the government contracts with his companies. 

 

Bezos’s Blue Origin and SpaceX have been competing against one another for years, but SpaceX pulled far ahead of Blue Origin after it launched rockets at a record pace and became the dominant contractor at Nasa. 

 

The report stated that several of Blue Origin’s executives were worried about the increasing proximity between Trump and Musk, with the latter obtaining government contracts, their feud offered some relief and came as a potential opening.

 

Trump-Bezos calls stir speculation

 

Citing sources, the report added that Blue Origin CEO Limp met with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in mid-June, a meeting that was bookended by calls with Bezos and Trump. 

 

In his phone calls with Bezos, Trump expressed his desire to see a crewed mission to the moon during his term in office. With the feud serving as an opportunity for Bezos to woo Trump, the former did not leave any stone unturned in the recent months. He even invited Trump to his celebrity-filled wedding scheduled for this weekend in Venice; however, Trump declined due to prior commitments, the report said, citing White House officials.

 

Blue Origin vs SpaceX 

While Bezos and his team have been making efforts to win the government contracts, a big challenge that persists for them is demonstrating that it can fly its powerful orbital rocket reliably and regularly. Earlier in January this year, Blue Origin, for the first time, launched its New Glenn rocket and reached orbit on the first try. While the company hoped to conduct its second mission in spring, it has missed the goal and is now aiming for another launch in mid-August.

 

SpaceX, on the other hand, plans to launch 170 times this year. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are a workhorse for the US government clients; however, the company says many of those 170 flights will be for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite network.

 

In April this year, SpaceX was awarded a $5.9 billion deal by a Space Force command for 28 flights planned for the upcoming years. Another provider, United Launch Alliance, received a bit less than SpaceX for 19 missions. Blue Origin was awarded $2.4 billion for seven launches.