this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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At least they ran trials. I feel the federal gov't would just buy the shit with our taxes.
The federal government is essentially buying them up when space x does it. Since that’s where space x gets most of its money.
That's like saying your employer is buying your car because you get paid by your employer so your company is bankrolling Ford or whatever.
SpaceX bids on services the government wants people to provide, they win the bid (usually lowest cost due to their reusable rockets) and deliver said product/outcome. They don't even operate on cost plus contracts like other space companies, it's generally fixed cost.
This isn't like Tesla where there's things like ZEV credits or $7500 federal rebates.
This is I want to buy something and SpaceX delivers it, and of what they get from the government, that is the vast vast majority of it.
Also Starlink is now their biggest revenue generator (of which their are government purchases as well)