‘Retarded’, ‘idiot’: Elon Musk gets into fight with astronaut on X over Sunita Williams’ return from space

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was recently seen in another social media spat with an astronaut, who he called ‘retarded’ and ‘idiot’ on an X post.

Musk, who has been tasked by US President Donald Trump to facilitate the return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from space, was seen arguing with Danish astronaut Andreas 'Andy' Mogenson over the topic.

Elon Musk vs Andreas Mongenson

The war of words started when Mongenson, the former commander of the International Space Station (ISS), called Musk a ‘liar’ for claiming that Willams and Wilmore were left in space due to “political reasons” concerning former US President Joe Biden.

Sharing a snippet of Musk’s interview on Fox News, where he was accompanied by Trump, Mongenson said it was a lie.

“What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media,” he wrote in a post on X.

Elon Musk quickly responded to the post, saying that SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back long ago but the Biden administration had refused his offer.

“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,” he responded.

Mongenson did not back out and replied to Musk’s response. He accused the SpaceX CEO of abandoning Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore by not sending a rescue ship for them.

“Elon, I have long admired you and what you have accomplished, especially at SpaceX and Tesla. You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September,” he wrote.

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore stuck in space

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore flew to the International Space Station (ISS) last year onboard a Boeing Starliner to certify the new spaceship. The mission, which was supposed to last for just eight days, turned out to be a months-long wait for the astronauts, who got stuck aboard the ISS due to thruster issues of the spacecraft.

NASA, who was in charge of the mission, decided that Williams and Wilmore would not return aboard Starliner, and handed over the responsibility to SpaceX.

Later, it was decided that the astronauts would return on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission spaceship. They originally were scheduled to return in February, but will now come back on March 19.