Elon Musk Declares: I'll Congratulate Jeff Bezos if Blue Origin Lands on Moon First
Elon Musk says he'll congratulate Jeff Bezos if Blue Origin lands on the moon first but stresses long-term lunar city goals.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said he would be among the first to congratulate Jeff Bezos if Blue Origin manages to land on the Moon before SpaceX, marking a rare conciliatory moment in the long-running rivalry between the two billionaire space entrepreneurs.
Musk made the remark while responding to a social media post by Bezos, who shared a black-and-white image of a tortoise without any caption. The post quickly sparked speculation online, with users linking it to Blue Origin’s official motto, Gradatim Ferociter—Latin for “step by step, ferociously.”
Several users also drew parallels to the classic Tortoise and the Hare fable, noting that Bezos has previously described Blue Origin as the slow but determined tortoise, in contrast to SpaceX’s rapid-fire approach to space exploration. One user suggested the post implied Blue Origin’s belief that it could ultimately beat SpaceX to the Moon.
Also Read: Pakistan Delays Starlink Licensing Amid Data Security And Regulatory Concerns
Responding to the explanation, Musk said he was unfazed by the prospect. “They might land something on the Moon before SpaceX, and that’s fine by me. I will be one of the first to congratulate them,” he wrote, adding that humanity’s future depends on multiple players moving quickly in space exploration.
Musk, however, stressed that symbolic milestones were less important than long-term goals. “What really matters for the future is being able to land millions of tonnes of equipment and people to build a self-growing city on the Moon,” he said, suggesting that in this broader mission, SpaceX may currently be taking a more methodical approach.
Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, while Musk launched Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, in 2002. Despite their shared ambitions, the two companies have clashed repeatedly in recent years over launchpad access, landing-pad patents, and broader space policy issues.
Also Read: Pentagon Urged to Probe Chinese Ownership in Elon Musk's SpaceX
