Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he had a call with Elon Musk, despite their differences — because sometimes, it’s just better to get on the horn with someone and clear things up.
On Friday, Buttigieg disputed a series of claims made by the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. Musk had in an X post accused the government of closing the airspace in Asheville, North Carolina, to block recovery efforts.
Musk also blamed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government’s disaster-relief group, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Buttigieg responded to Musk, writing: “No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.”
The two men then had a chat via phone call, Buttigieg said in an interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki released on Sunday.
“He called,” Buttigieg told Psaki. “We had a conversation.”
Buttigieg told MSNBC that some of the confusion on X stemmed from temporary flight restrictions, which the FAA introduced to ensure safety for aircraft conducting Hurricane Helene rescue and recovery activities.
Buttigieg said he and Musk managed to get to the bottom of what was happening and sort out problems for pilots helping to get Starlink equipment to disaster-hit areas.
“We were able to take care of it,” Buttigieg said. “And, I think, to me it’s an example of how often the best thing to do is just to pick up the phone.”
Later on Friday, Musk had a more positive tone while replying to a post from Buttigieg on X about the government delivering additional emergency relief to South Carolina.
Before and after satellite photos show Hurricane Helene’s destruction of the Florida coast
“Thanks for expediting approval for support flights,” Musk said. “Just wanted to note that Sec Buttigieg is on the ball.”
Buttigieg replied, writing: “Glad we could address — thanks for engaging.”
Musk and Buttigieg have had public disagreements over topics including tax credits for electric vehicles and the safety of driverless cars.
Lately, Musk has also been slamming the FAA, accusing it of playing favorites with Boeing instead of giving equal treatment to Musk’s space-exploration company, SpaceX. The FAA falls under the Department of Transportation.
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Representatives of the Department of Transportation and Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside business hours.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on September 26 and swept through Georgia and the Carolinas, causing widespread damage. Moody’s Analytics projected that damage from the disaster could cost the US up to $34 billion, with estimated property damage ranging from $15 billion to $26 billion.
FEMA said in a September 30 press release that it had deployed Starlink satellites made by SpaceX to areas that needed internet access after the hurricane.
