---
title: "Elon Musk Wants Newt Gingrich’s $2 Billion Moon Payout"
description: "Newt Gingrich proposed a $2 billion contest for private companies to set up a settlement on the Moon. Elon Musk wants in."
date: "2019-08-20"
modified: "2019-08-20"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-newt-gingrich-billion"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Moon"
  - "Space"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk Wants Newt Gingrich’s $2 Billion Moon Payout

![Newt Gingrich proposed a $2 billion contest for private companies to set up a settlement on the Moon. Elon Musk wants in.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/elon-musk-newt-gingrich-billion.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Space Race 2.0

Elon Musk is very excited at the prospect of a new race to the Moon, calling Newt Gingrich's proposed contest "[a great idea](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1163674045050568707?s=20>)."

But let's back up. On Monday, [*Politico* reported](<https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/19/newt-gingrich-michael-jackson-moon-1466853>) that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been pitching a new [space race contest](<https://futurism.com/newt-gingrich-two-billion-prize-moon>) for private companies to Donald Trump and other government officials. The gist: a $2 billion prize goes to whichever company can build and run a settlement on the Moon. Now it seems that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is all for the idea.

## On Your Mark

So far, Trump hasn't said anything publicly about the proposed contest, *[Business Insider ](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-likes-newt-gingrich-moon-competition-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>)*[reports](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-likes-newt-gingrich-moon-competition-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>). But given Trump and other Republican leadership's [frustration with NASA's budget](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-missions-over-budget-delayed>), the contest likely appealed to the President because it would put more of America's space program into the hands of private companies — not to mention his background in contest-style reality television.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1163674045050568707?s=20

NASA is likely to spend at least $50 billion on Artemis, its upcoming crewed Moon mission. Compared to that, $2 billion out of the government's coffers seems like chump change, though it's unclear how enticing that prize is to companies that would need to undergo some [massive investments and expenditures](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-mars-city-cost-10-trillion>) to win the race.

But apparently that's not enough to deter Musk.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk hails Newt Gingrich's plan to award a $2 billion prize to the first company that lands humans on the moon](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-likes-newt-gingrich-moon-competition-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on the contest:** *[Newt Gingrich Proposes $2 Billion Prize to Land on the Moon](<https://futurism.com/newt-gingrich-two-billion-prize-moon>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)