Trump had suggested at the height of his feud with the world's richest man that the administration could save millions of dollars by 'terminating' government contracts with Musk's companies, which would force him to 'head back home to South Africa.'

The relationship had spectacularly combusted over Musk's criticism of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and personal attacks about the president's former relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Days later, a senior official at the General Services Administration ordered the Defense Department to fill out a form detailing every current SpaceX contract and transaction agreement, The Wall Street Journal revealed.

The official said the data they collated would be shared with the White House to await further instruction.

He also made similar requests to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in an effort to establish whether a competitor could run the same contracts more effectively.