--- title: "Head of NASA Says He Trusts SpaceX Because Someone Other Than Elon Musk Is Running It" description: "NASA director Bill Nelson has a checkered record when it comes to SpaceX owner Elon Musk, but he trusts SpaceX because, well, he isn't CEO." date: "2024-05-06" modified: "2024-05-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-head-trusts-spacex-shotwell" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Head of NASA Says He Trusts SpaceX Because Someone Other Than Elon Musk Is Running It ![NASA director Bill Nelson has a checkered record when it comes to SpaceX owner Elon Musk, but he trusts SpaceX because, well, he isn't CEO.]() *\Image: Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Graeme Jennings-Pool via Getty / Futurism\* ## Get Owned NASA has [hedged many of its bets]() on SpaceX despite its controversial and [majorly overworked]() owner — and as the agency's director now suggests, that's mainly because Elon Musk isn't running it. In an [interview with *NPR*](), NASA director Bill Nelson gave a fascinating and telling answer when asked about Musk's ownership of the spaceflight firm that enjoys [tens of billions of dollars]() in government contracts. "Elon Musk's decision-making has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent years when it comes to some of his other companies, Twitter and Tesla," interviewer Scott Detrow asked. "Are you concerned that so much of this plan is in the hands of Elon Musk at this point in time?" "Elon Musk... one of the most important decisions he made, as a matter of fact, is he picked a president named Gwynne Shotwell," Nelson demurred. "She runs SpaceX. She is excellent. And so I have no concerns." ## Cause For Concern This isn't the first time the NASA director and former Florida senator has expressed [similar sentiments](). A few months after [Musk bought Twitter]() — though before he disastrously [renamed it "X]()" — in late 2022, Nelson [recounted to *NBC News*]() his relief when discussing the acquisition with the SpaceX president. "Tell me that the distraction that Elon might have on Twitter is not going to affect SpaceX," Nelson recalled querying Shotwell. In response, she apparently told him that it hadn't harmed the spaceflight company and that he had "nothing to worry about." "I hugged her with a smile on my face, because I know she is running that thing," the NASA director continued. "She’s running SpaceX." ## Commercial P-U All the same, the former deputy director of NASA remarked in a tell-all memoir released in 2022 that prior to taking over as head of the agency, Nelson was even more anti-Musk than he is now. In her book "[Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age]()," former deputy director Lori Garver said that when he was still a senator, Nelson "led the opposition" to SpaceX, which she championed while spearheading what became the Commercial Crew Program. In one private meeting, as Garver recounted, Nelson even shouted at her to "'get your boy Elon in line.'" While he's [publicly softened on Musk](), Nelson can't seem to help but let his animosity towards the bombastic multi-hyphenate show now and again — and as the person in charge of NASA, which has invested so heavily in SpaceX, it's not hard to see why. **More on SpaceX:** [*SpaceX Employees Getting Wounded at Incredible Rates*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()