Elon Musk Working on Attack Satellite System for the Pentagon

Musk's SpaceX facilities might be taking some flak from protestors lately, but it's nothing compared to the mass mobilization of demonstrations that have given his Tesla dealerships a black eye.

That could change with his latest concept: a bid to build Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system, for which the billionaire's SpaceX has emerged as a frontrunner, according to Reuters.

Musk's company is leading a coalition of tech corporations in the bidding, including the surveillance platform Palantir and the drone builder Anduril. The current plan is to pitch the Pentagon on a "subscription-based" missile service, where the US pays for access to armaments owned by the tech companies instead of actually owning — and ultimately controlling — the system.

Under Musk's vision, the three companies would pool their talents to launch between 400 to 1,000 satellites to circle the globe, likely surveilling foreign ballistic installations for signs of action. Meanwhile, Reuters sources say a fleet of 200 attack satellites — themselves armed with either missiles or anti-missile lasers — would bring missiles down once detected.

The Pentagon contracting out military operations is nothing new, though as Reuters notes, this deal would be a massive boost for Musk — a Silicon Valley company has never owned a Pentagon's armament of this size outright.

It's a major departure for the Pentagon as well. One source suggested that Musk's commercial involvement is bought by his role in DOGE, noting that "there's an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government."

Though we have the richest man in the world to thank for missiles-on-demand pitch, the bizarre push for missile spending is the brainchild of Trump.

In an otherwise lackluster executive order from January 27, the president warned that enemy missile attacks are the "most catastrophic threat facing the United States," parroting an ancient talking point held by everyone from Ronald Reagan to the Heritage Foundation.

Disregard the fact that an enemy missile has never been launched against US soil, and the US' own history of indiscriminate missile strikes on foreign lands. As of January, the US owns 1,419 strategic warheads — second only to Russia, which has 1,549.

Meanwhile, remember that this is the same guy who brought us the Cybertruck, a luxury vehicle held together by glue. And his non-defense spacecraft have a nasty habit of falling out the sky.

"It remains to be seen whether SpaceX and these tech companies will be able to pull any of this off," as a source familiar with the discussion told Reuters.

Hell, bombs away.

More on military contractors: NASA Caught Purchasing Controversial AI Surveillance Software

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