Elon Musk, the Rocket Man who fell to Earth

The row with Trump offers an opening for rivals to his space empire.

- Lionel Laurent

The popcorn emoji is out in force as the world's richest person feuds with its most powerful leader. Even Mr Thierry Breton, the European regulator who was a frequent target of Mr Elon Musk's ire, is at it.

Still, as entertaining as the billionaire's spat with US President Donald Trump may be, it also carries costly lessons for a US$630 billion (S$811 billion) space economy dominated by Mr Musk's Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX - such is the danger of codependence between de facto monopolies and increasingly protectionist states.

This danger wasn't high on the agenda at the peak of Mr Trump's bromance with Mr Musk, when the then President-elect described SpaceX's reusable rocket revolution in the way a Renaissance monarch might have praised a successful colonial expedition - with a mix of national pride, geopolitical influence and financial potential.

"I called Elon. I said, 'Elon, was that (landing manoeuvre) you?' He said, 'Yes, it was.' I said, '...Can Russia do it?' 'No.' 'Can China do it?' 'No.' 'Can the United States do it, other than you?' 'No, nobody can do that.' 'That's why I love you, Elon.'"