Goodbye to Elon Musk’s SpaceX? Trump administration seeks new partners for Golden Dome missile defense system

Just months after Elon Musk was conducting White House press conferences, President Donald Trump is looking to shift away from Musk’s SpaceX company.

Reuters reports that the Trump administration is actively seeking to reduce the United States government’s reliance on SpaceX. New partners are being sought to help construct the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system. SpaceX is already a major player in US military contracts, with Starlink and Starshield satellites around the world.

Musk’s SpaceX had previously been considered a prime candidate to build parts of the vast infrastructure but he has since distanced himself from the idea. Writing on X, Musk said that his company had "not tried to bid for any contract in this regard. Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars."

Beyond Musk’s satellite empire, the government is reporting considering Amazon.com’s Project Kuiper as a potential replacement for some federal contracts. Project Kuiper is Amazon’s attempt to introduced a large network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that could provide global broadband internet access.

The Golden Dome project is thought to cost around $175 billion and will be a major undertaking for which company is tasked with the production. The Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation describes the project as "a visionary plan to shield the entire United States from all missile attacks, Golden Dome has been compared rhetorically to the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative known as ‘Star Wars’.” It would be a “layered missile defence architecture” that could span the entire continental United States.

Given the extent of the links between the US government and Musk’s SpaceX and Starshield companies, there is no realistic chance of a complete break between the two entities. But if the Golden Dome is built without any input from Musk it would represent a notable shift in the relationship.

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