US President Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk and Space X to ‘go get’ two astronauts who’ve been ‘abandoned in space by the Biden Administration’.

On June 5, 2024, NASA’s Boeing Starliner Calypso was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for an eight-day round trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

Alas, over six months later and astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore are still yet to have returned.

As the Boeing Starliner Calypso approached the ISS, the capsule’s thrusters malfunctioned and NASA ruled it too dangerous for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth onboard the space vehicle as planned on June 14.

Their return was subsequently postponed and a plan put in place for the pair to travel back with SpaceX Crew-9, however, NASA later announced a further adjustment of the date for Williams and Wilmore to be picked up in a blog post.

On its site, it explained NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 was now ‘targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the ISS’.

“The change gives NASA and SpaceX teams time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission. The new spacecraft is set to arrive to the company’s processing facility in Florida in early January,” it added.

As a result, this meant Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth would be delayed until March 2025.

Although, Donald Trump has since seemingly called on Elon Musk to get the astronauts back even sooner, taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, last night (January 28) to reveal: “I have just asked Elon Musk and Space X to ‘go get’ the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.

“They have been waiting for many months on Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”

Musk shared the post on Twitter earlier today, adding a salute emoji to the post.

Donald Trump has called on Elon Musk (Truth Social/ Donald Trump/ Twitter/ Elon Musk)

Despite Trump accusing ‘the Biden Administration’ of having ‘virtually abandoned’ the astronauts, NASA states it and SpaceX ‘assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments’.

“After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025,” it’s blog post resolved.

UNILAD has contacted NASA for comment.

Three days have passed since Elon Musk was accused of making a ‘Nazi salute’ on two separate occasions while addressing Trump supporters, and his estranged daughter has touched on the gesture.

On Monday (January 20), President Donald Trump was sworn into office for the second time and afterwards, during the rally at his inauguration, he spoke to his adoring fans.

Vivian Jenna Wilson has called out her estranged father Elon Musk after he addressed a crowd at President Donald Trump’s inauguration (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Of course, the world’s richest man was in attendance. Musk has been named, alongside the former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, as the head of a new Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk controversially made the gesture on stage at the inauguration, immediately after saying: “Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you.”

The billionaire has since denied this was his intention, and other defenders have argued he was doing a Roman salute, or was ‘giving his heart to the crowd’.

Taking to Instagram’s social media platform Threads, Musk’s transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson, wrote: “I’m just gonna say let’s call a spade a f***ing spade. Especially if there were two spades done in succession based on the reaction of the first spade.”

After appearing to make a ‘Nazi salute’, he then repeated the gesture again.

Wilson also posted: “I don’t know why y’all are reacting with such vigor, I’m clearly only talking about card suits. I mean I have ADHD and this was CLEARLY just an accident that people happened to interpret to mean something other than just card suits.

Vivian Jenna Wilson indirectly slammed her estranged dad for his actions on Monday (Instagram/vivllainous)

“After all, there’s no proof I’m not just talking about card suits. Y’know… people assuming that I’m not just talking about card suits just goes to show how dishonest people/the media can be.”

Musk has since hit out at Wikipedia for comparing his gesture to a Nazi salute. Defending his actions, he wrote: “Since legacy media propaganda is considered a ‘valid’ source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!”

The page in question read: “Musk thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, and then extended his right arm out, emphatically, at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together.

He then repeated the gesture to the crowd on his back. As he finished the gestures, he said to the crowd, ‘My heart goes out to you’.

“The gesture was viewed as a Nazi salute or Roman salute by many, including politicians Yolanda Díaz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jerry Nadler, as well as historian of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat.”

Despite the accusations against Musk, the Anti-Defamation League defended the South African billionaire.

In a statement on Twitter, the organization said: “It seems that [Musk] make an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people on edge.”

Hundreds of Tesla owners have hatched ‘plans’ out of ’embarrassment’ as the company’s CEO has been accused of making a ‘Nazi salute’ during Donald Trump’s inauguration rally.

Elon Musk is at the center of controversy after the billionaire tech mogul appeared to make a bizarre gesture during the president’s inauguration ceremony yesterday (January 20).

The SpaceX founder and Twitter owner was accused of doing a ‘Nazi salute’ while onstage at the Capitol One Arena, Washington.

The 53-year-old appeared to be excited by the idea of sending an American to Mars, during which he thumped his chest with his fist and shot his arm at a certain angle.

He commented: “Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you,” before turning back to the audience and repeating the move towards the American flag.

Dozens of viewers flooded social media with their thoughts on the matter, accusing Musk of making a ‘Sieg Heil’ as clear as day’ – and not only once, but twice.

Musk himself has addressed the comments on his Twitter account while the Anti-Defamation League claimed it was an ‘awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm’ as opposed to a ‘Nazi salute’.

However, it seems some of Musk’s customers have been left uncomfortable by the slip up.

Over on Reddit, thousands of Tesla owners have been debating how they feel about their vehicles after the incident, with the question posed by the OP: “Are you going to do anything about it?”

Customers claim they won’t buy a Tesla again (Christian Marquardt – Pool/Getty Images)

Some claimed the move had completely turned them off from ever investing in a Tesla, while several resigned to trying to flog them out of ’embarrassment’ to be seen driving them and said they never would have forked out had Musk pulled such a stunt before.

Others said they feel ‘stuck’ with their vehicle for now but vowed never to purchase another Tesla.

One user replied: “I’m stuck with my car for now but I won’t be buying another Tesla.”

Another added: “I don’t have the financial freedom to take a huge loss selling my vehicle. Instead, I simply won’t give Tesla any more money going forward, and my next vehicle upgrade will probably come sooner than it may have otherwise.”

While a third claimed: “I’m 100 percent buying an EV and 100 percent not a Tesla in the next 12 months before of Elon only… Would have probably bought a Tesla otherwise.”

The comments come as thousands report issues with the Tesla Cybertruck (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The comments come as already Tesla’s brand value took a whopping $15,000,000,000 hit due to issues with the Cybertruck build and millions being recalled.

But Brand Finance CEO David Haigh also suggested Musk’s actions have played a part, too.

He said: “If you are buying electric vehicles, his persona is highly likely to impact your view of whether or not you want to buy one of his company’s cars, but that’s only one of many factors.”

UNILAD has contacted Tesla for comment.

Donald Trump has signed a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions – but what does it actually mean?

President Trump has been in the Oval Office for just a matter of days but he’s wasted no time getting his feet under the table.

Trump signed off on numerous executive orders – which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are ‘only two genders’ – a matter of hours upon his return to the White House.

Now, the president has signed off a new executive bill that is set to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on abortions, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’.

Donald Trump has signed off a number of executive orders in his first week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What is the Mexico City policy?

The new executive bill, known as the ‘Mexico City policy’, cuts off any aid provided by the US to any foreign organization that provides abortion services, counseling, or even advocacy.

So, essentially, a bunch of companies face a tough choice – either cease all abortion-related services, or they’ll lose assisted funding provided by the US.

In fact, organizations must now provide proof they will not use funding from any other source for abortion-related services, including that of non-US donors, if they want assistance from the US.

History of the Mexico City policy

The ‘Mexico City policy’ is often used by Republican presidents, having first been brought in by Ronald Reagan at a 1984 United Nations conference.

The policy has remained divisive for a number of years and has been yo-yo’d in and out of law – it tends to go that Republicans will sign it in, Democrats will revoke it.

The bill has even been dubbed the ‘global gag rule’ due to it restricting not just services but also speech, according to its harshest critics.

The bill has its critics (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What impact does the Mexico City policy have in the real world?

The Guttmacher Institute, which looks into stats on abortion restrictions and their subsequent impact, states the policy can cut off access to contraception, while also leading women to go towards unsafe abortions.

Rebecca Hart Holder, who is the president of Reproductive Equity Now, said: “Reinstating the Mexico City policy will have deadly consequences for people across the globe.

“The United States is a vital partner to healthcare providers and organizations around the world, and robbing those frontline providers of their ability to provide the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, and even information about people’s options, will result in people losing their lives to pregnancy complications.”