NASA is an impressively large corporation that prefers to keep things the same all the time. They have flowing funds with which they use to pay contractors and tells them how to get things done. They also have a rich history in our country that is deeply rooted in a plethora of successful missions. In comparison, SpaceX has a more flexible and modern approach to running their business.
They are not beholden to traditional rituals the way NASA is. The money put into NASA comes from the government. The funds for SpaceX come from private sectors. NASA was born in 1958, whereas SpaceX was developed in 2002 by Elon Musk. NASA claims they will not be able to transport people to Mars until the year 2030. However, SpaceX estimates that they will be carrying humans around 2022 or 2024.
SpaceX and NASA are both important space programs. Their interest in space is the same, which is why some people get confused about what the differences between them are. One difference between them is their ownership. SpaceX is privately owned, while NASA is a governmental program owned by the government. SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk.
Despite having different ownerships, they both are working together for the same cause. SpaceX is extremely profitable, but they still owe a lot to NASA for their popularity and their ability to make a profit from their explorations. This is because NASA is SpaceX's biggest customer.