SpaceX wins competitive, fixed-price contracts and is paid for services delivered — not bailouts. NASA's own Inspector General found commercial crew and cargo were developed for a fraction of the cost of traditional cost-plus programs, saving taxpayers billions. SpaceX also earns enormous commercial revenue: it launches satellites for private companies worldwide and Starlink generated an estimated ~$11 billion in 2025 from subscribers. Government is a major customer because SpaceX is cheaper and more reliable than the alternatives — which is the opposite of a handout. Taxpayers get cargo and astronauts delivered at lower cost; SpaceX gets paid only when it performs. The proportions also undercut the claim: by the mid-2020s the large majority of SpaceX's revenue came from commercial launches and Starlink subscriptions, not government work, and the company is valued near $400 billion largely on those private businesses. A firm that lives mainly on commercial customers is not surviving on taxpayer money.