Steve Bannon Urges Trump to Investigate Elon Musk’s Immigration Status, Seize SpaceX Amid Escalating Feud, and Deport Him Immediately

Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk attends the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has called on President Donald Trump to investigate billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s immigration status, deport him “immediately,” and invoke emergency powers to seize control of Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX. The remarks were made Thursday on Bannon’s podcast amid an intensifying public fallout between Trump and Musk.

Bannon criticized Musk over a recent threat to deactivate SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which currently serves as the United States' primary means of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). In response, Bannon urged Trump to use the Defense Production Act (DPA), a Korean War-era law, to take control of SpaceX before midnight.

“The action that President Trump should be taking immediately… is to sign an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to seize SpaceX tonight,” Bannon declared. While the DPA allows the government to prioritize contracts for national defense, it does not explicitly authorize the seizure of private companies.

Musk appeared to walk back his threat to take the spacecraft offline later Thursday evening.

In a further escalation, Bannon alleged that Musk may be in the country illegally and demanded a formal federal investigation into his immigration status. “I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,” Bannon said, while also calling for inquiries into Musk’s alleged drug use and claims that the South African-born businessman sought access to classified Pentagon intelligence on China.

Bannon advised that Musk’s security clearance be suspended while the investigation is underway, and that all government contracts with Musk’s companies—such as SpaceX and Tesla—be terminated.

Tensions between Musk and Trump have surged in recent weeks following Musk’s vocal support of a proposed congressional bill that the former president strongly opposes. Trump expressed his disappointment with Musk, stating during a press briefing, “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore.”

In retaliation, Musk took to his social media platform X to accuse Trump of suppressing documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the former president is implicated. Musk also suggested Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance.

Trump, in turn, accused Musk of having “gone crazy” and warned he may cancel the “billions and billions” in federal subsidies and contracts awarded to Musk’s companies.

Bannon, who has repeatedly criticized Musk’s role in Trump’s presidency and campaign, intensified his attacks during Thursday’s podcast. He referred to Musk as “a parasitic illegal immigrant” in a separate interview earlier this year and accused him of attempting to reshape the country according to his personal ideals.

“He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values or traditions,” Bannon said.

Bannon also accused Musk of betraying the Trump movement. “As soon as [Musk] didn’t think he ran the deal or got the adoration… he turned on President Trump, on MAGA, and most importantly, on the country and the American people,” Bannon said. He warned that Musk could soon fund efforts to impeach Trump or interfere in future elections.