In 2016, when a BBC reporter asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about fellow billionaire and Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, he asked, "Jeff who?"

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Over the past 15 years, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the world's two most high-profile CEOs, have publicly sparred with each other several times. Both have similar space ambitions -- Bezos started Blue Origin in 2000, while Elon Musk founded SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corporation in 2002.

However, things seem different this week.

Bezos congratulated Musk and SpaceX on the successful launch of the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission into the orbit.

“Congratulations to Elon Musk and the SpaceX team on their successful Inspiration4 launch last night. Another step towards a future where space is accessible to all of us," Bezos tweeted on September 16.

Congratulations to @ElonMusk and the @SpaceX team on their successful Inspiration4 launch last night. Another step towards a future where space is accessible to all of us.

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) September 16, 2021

The SpaceX CEO politely responded with a "Thank you."

Bezos has refrained from tweeting for more than a year and it came as a surprise when he returned to Twitter with a congratulatory note for a rival.

Twitter was flooded with comments on the polite exchange of the two sparring billionaires.

"This feels much better gentlemen," praised American entrepreneur Jason Calacanis.

David Gokhshtein @davidgokhshtein wrote: “See -- you don’t have to put down your competition. We can all work together to achieve great things.”

Crypta Roo @Cornell_888 said: “Awesome to see the support from a competition.”

However, others were surprised at the tweet. The Silicon Valley Tesla Owners Club tweeted: “Jeff who?” referring to Musk’s response to the BBC reporter.

Also read: Cheeky tweets, lawsuits and more: Jeff Bezos-Elon Musk rivalry runs deep

“You guys are supposed to be mean to each other,” said Fintwit @fintwit_news

Four amateur astronauts created history on September 15 when they streaked into the Earth’s orbit on a Dragon vehicle, manufactured by Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The vehicle will journey into the low-earth orbit for three-days, a place much higher than where Jeff Bezos himself went.

Jeff Bezos flew to space on the New Shepard vehicle on July 20. However, his flight only took short hops at the edge of the atmosphere, unlike Inspiration4, which will go fully into the orbit.

Also read: 'Bezos would be on Pluto if…": Elon Musk needles Amazon founder on Twitter

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Sept 17, 2021 6:54 PM IST