“I don’t really know Elon very well,” Jeff Bezos told podcaster Lex Fridman when asked what he made of Elon Musk.
The Amazon founder did not stop there. “I know his public persona but I also know you can’t know anyone by their public persona,” he said. “You may think you do, but I guarantee you don’t.” Then came the compliment. “Judging by the results, he must be a very capable leader. There’s no way you can have Tesla and SpaceX without being a capable leader.”
Fridman, in the December 2023 interview, floated the idea of the two men spending time together and hoped for a friendship that would inspire all of humanity. Bezos liked it. “I think with a lot of these endeavours we’re very like-minded,” he said. “I’m not saying we’re identical, but we’re very like-minded so I love that idea.”
Years of sniping
The warmth cuts against a rivalry that has simmered for years. Both men run space companies, Bezos through Blue Origin and Musk through SpaceX, and Blue Origin has spent much of that time trying to close the gap on its competitor.
Musk has called Bezos a “copycat” and mocked his spaceship. Bezos has answered with quieter digs, and at times congratulated SpaceX on its milestones, if grudgingly.
The feud has not stayed in orbit. Musk backed the idea of breaking up Amazon’s retail empire, while Bezos accused Musk of leaning on government subsidies for an unfair advantage.
Even so, each has acknowledged what the other has built. Both, in their different ways, say they want to push space exploration forward.
