The White House is considering cutting Elon Musk’s SpaceX out of its massive “Golden Dome” missile defense project after he and President Donald Trump had a nuclear falling-out.
Last month, the world’s richest man and Trump megadonor was considered the frontrunner to partner with data firm Palantir and drone builder Anduril in the president’s pet project, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
Trump has touted the Golden Dome as a $175 billion endeavor that would be operational by the time he leaves offices in 2029. The independent Congressional Budget Office, however, estimated the project would take 20 years and $524 billion to complete, making it a windfall for the contractors involved.
Originally the administration had instructed the Pentagon to prioritize a network of satellites for the defense system, but a new framework could forego SpaceX’s satellite capabilities in favor of expanding existing ground systems instead, sources told Reuters.
Musk donated more than $250 million to get Trump elected and served as one of his most important advisors until the two men got in an ugly public fight over the president’s budget bill.
Things escalated over several days, with Trump eventually threatening to cancel Musk’s government contracts. The world’s richest man then called for the president to be impeached and accused him of improper involvement with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in 2019.
“Because of the blowup, the Pentagon has been given the space to look at other alternatives,” for the Golden Dome, a source told Reuters.
If SpaceX’s role is in fact reduced, it would be the first known setback to Musk’s pursuit of federal contracts since his bromance with Trump ended last week, according to the news outlet.
A senior Defense Department official said the Pentagon “has no announcements regarding future contracts associated with the Golden Dome effort.”
After taking the weekend to cool off, Musk tried to come crawling back to Trump this week, deleting his Epstein post, sharing Trump’s social media posts to his 220 million followers on X, and issuing a public apology. Reuters couldn’t determine if those overtures will help SpaceX’s Golden Dome prospects.
The entire saga, however, raises questions about whether the people building the Golden Dome are being chosen based on political affiliations as opposed to technical merit, Laura Grego, a missile defense expert and research director at the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, told Reuters.
SpaceX, Anduril and Palantir all have founders who have been major political supporters of Trump, and all three have met with top administration officials to discuss the Golden Dome, the agency reported.
In a statement, a White House spokesman said “the Trump Administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts” and that decision would be made “prioritizing the best deal for America and leveraging the most advanced and innovative technology,” Reuters reported.
But neither Congress nor the Department of Defense requested the Golden Dome, which experts warn could start an arms race in space.
Trump has not announced any of the contractors involved, saying only that he would engage “the brightest minds” from Silicon Valley. The administration hasn’t offered a timeline for deciding on a framework or announcing the companies involved.
Contractors have been racing to pitch their products and services despite nobody really knowing what the Golden Dome will entail, sources told Reuters.
“There isn’t a coordinated effort with a true vision,” said one person familiar with the process. “All of these companies are just grabbing at this pot of money.”
SpaceX had pitched a constellation of 400 to 1,000 satellites that would detect missiles, track their trajectory and determine if they are headed to the U.S.
Changing the system’s architecture could allow the administration to deliver at least part of the project by the end of Trump’s term, sources told Reuters.
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