Elon Musk Shares Series Of Posts To Dismiss Jeff Bezos Rivalry Rumours: "A Lot Has Happened In 21 Years"

SpaceX chief Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have been feuding publicly for years. Mr Musk has taken to social media to call Mr Bezos a "copycat". He has mocked Blue Origin's lunar landing design. And the two have also debated who tackled the rocket booster landing gaming first. However, not many know the two once met for a friendly dinner in 2004. A picture from the meeting is currently going viral on social media, and it has even captured Elon Musk's attention, who reacted to it on X. 

"Wow, a lot has happened in 21 years!" Mr Musk wrote while reacting to the picture, which shows the two billionaires at a dinner table. 

Take a look below: 

Wow, a lot has happened in 21 years! https://t.co/QNoOWuIfLP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

While Mr Musk and Mr Bezos are not rivals in any earthly business - the former has made his fortune in electric cars, the latter in e-commerce - the two have similar space ambitions. Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin in 2000 and Mr Musk launched Space Exploration Technologies Corporation or SpaceX in 2002. 

Over the last few years, Blue Origin and SpaceX have clashed over launch-pad lease opportunities, landing-pad patents and more. Now, the two are also slated to compete in the satellite internet business, and Mr Bezos' Blue Origin is challenging SpaceX's dominance in the lucrative market for launch contracts, reported CNN. 

However, after Blue Origin debuted New Glenn - the company's first rocket capable of reaching orbit - on Thursday, Mr Musk has been sharing humorous posts on social media, seemingly attempting to dispel rumours of rivalry between the two. 

In one post, Mr Musk offered words of encouragement to Mr Bezos after the successful launch of his company's first rocket. In another, he likened his relationship to Mr Bezos to that of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly's characters in the 2008 comedy "Stepbrothers". 

"Actual footage of @ElonMusk & @JeffBezos at the Catalina Wine Mixer," he wrote alongside a clip from the movie.

Actual footage of @ElonMusk & @JeffBezos at the Catalina Wine Mixer
pic.twitter.com/XE7VV8cCG1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

"Step Brothers is the perfect meme for @JeffBezos & me," he wrote alongside another clip in which the two characters declare that they just became "best friends".

Step Brothers is the perfect meme for @JeffBezos & me 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/3IxOmdo0fU

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

Mr Bezos also responded to Musk's sentiments on the New Glenn launch by offering well wishes to SpaceX on today's Starship flight. "Good luck today @elonmusk and the whole spacex team!!" he wrote. 

Also Read | "Entertainment Guaranteed": Musk As Debris Falls From Broken SpaceX Starship

Meanwhile, SpaceX Starship prototype failed in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris. Mr Musk posted a video on X showing the debris field and said: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" He also shared "preliminary" analysis about what might have caused the Starship spacecraft to fail roughly 10 minutes into flight. 

"Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity.  Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month," he said.