Musk And Bezos Are Back In A Fight About Going To The Moon

Jeff Bezos, again getting ridicule from Elon Musk. (photo: twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - The two richest people in the world are now arguing in public, like children. Elon Musk mocked Jeff Bezos on Twitter on Friday, August 27. Musk quipped that Bezos had resigned as Amazon CEO to spend his time filing lawsuits against Musk's company, SpaceX.

The blow came after Bezos' Blue Origin space company sued NASA earlier this month over the agency's decision to award SpaceX a USD 2.9 billion lunar lander contract.

Amazon also filed a complaint against SpaceX with the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, August 25 urging regulators to reject the company's plans to launch more satellites as part of its satellite internet business.

Musk, who is the second richest person in the world after Bezos, is fed up with his rival's legal moves.

"Turns out Besos retired to pursue a full-time job filing a lawsuit against SpaceX..." Musk wrote on Twitter Friday - misspelling Bezos' name, writing the Spanish word for "kiss".

Turns out Besos retired in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against SpaceX …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2021

The 50-year-old Musk made the comments in response to a Tweet from a reporter who works for the Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos.

Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO in July, leaving the reins to his deputy Andy Jassy and opting to launch himself into space on a Blue Origin rocket.

Musk and Bezos, who according to Forbes estimates are worth USD 193 billion and USD 186 billion respectively, have a long history of bickering over their galactic ambitions.

The duo met over dinner in 2004 to talk about space travel, journalist Christian Davenport wrote in a book about the two.

“We talked about rocket architecture”, Musk said of the dinner. "I really did my best to give him good advice, which he largely ignored".

Another front in a growing rivalry: Amazon Urges FCC to Deny SpaceX's Plan for Second-Generation Starlink https://t.co/bHn85RsmW4 #PCMag

— Christian Davenport (@wapodavenport) August 26, 2021

In 2013, the rivalry between the two billionaires spilled over into the public eye when they bickered over access to NASA's launch pad and soon fought over a rocket landing patent.

In 2015, Musk denounced Bezos on Twitter over another rocket landing technology and called Blue Origin behind SpaceX for years.

Earlier this year, Musk poked fun at a Washington Post reporter who wrote a story about him, replying to a request for comment on a story with, "Give my regards to your puppet master".

For Bezos' part, he has ridiculed plans to explore Mars, SpaceX's main ambition.

"My friends who want to move to Mars, I say, do me a favor and go live on top of Mount Everest for the first year, and see if you like it because it's a paradise garden compared to Mars", Bezos said.