MSNBC Hosts Mock Elon Musk After SpaceX Mishap: 'Go Back to Your Day Job'

Elon Musk's SpaceX faced another fiery setback on Thursday when the eighth suborbital flight test of its fully integrated Starship megarocket ended in an explosion. The mishap gave MSNBC's "The Weekend" hosts plenty of material, with some suggesting that Musk should "go back to your day job." Ouch.

The test did have a bright spot: SpaceX successfully caught Starship's Super Heavy booster (one of its two major components) using the "chopsticks" mechanism on the launch tower. But the upper stage of the rocket was a different story. Once it reached space, it began spinning uncontrollably, eventually breaking apart and scattering debris back to Earth. Not exactly the glorious moment Musk probably envisioned.

MSNBC co-host Michael Steele didn’t hold back during Saturday’s broadcast. "For Elon, his response to all of this was, 'Rockets are hard,’” Steele quipped. “And Mr. Musk, if they’re so hard, why don’t you go back to your day job and work that out and leave those of us who do government to do government, because you can’t do both. Clearly, you're failing right now at both." That’s some prime-time shade right there.

While Musk took a verbal beating from the hosts, the SpaceX team wasted no time initiating contingency plans with safety officials. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued ground stops for several Florida airports, including Miami International, and launched a standard "mishap investigation." SpaceX, for its part, remained optimistic, stating, "We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand [the] root cause. Success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability." You’ve got to hand it to them for keeping their heads high.

Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland and chair of the Republican National Committee, didn’t stop there. He also criticized Musk's leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary White House organization tasked with streamlining federal operations. Steele suggested Musk stick to rockets. "I suggest you concentrate on the one thing you think you know more about, and do that, and leave the rest to those of us who know a little bit of how to provide services to people who need them and make the government function," Steele said. "Rockets are hard. So is government."

For Musk, the latest Starship setback is another bump in an already winding road. But let’s face it, the man thrives on challenges. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is still up for debate.