Elon Musk’s SpaceX is frontrunner to win a $10 billion contract to build Donald Trump’s proposed domestic missile shield, called—perhaps inevitably— the“Golden Dome.”
Musk’s firm has formed a consortium with two other companies with close Trump ties—defense start-up Anduril, in which billionaire Peter Thiel is a key investor, and Palantir, which he co-founded—to bid for the contract.
The “dome” is inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, which shoots down incoming rockets and missiles, a threat which Trump has claimed is “the most catastrophic” facing the nation.
Musk’s involvement was revealed by Reuters, which reported that SpaceX representatives have held talks at the Pentagon outlining the consortium’s proposals.
The grouping, which does not have formal name, is proposing it would launch as many as 1,000 satellites to orbit the earth watching for missile threats as the first stage of the process. Design and preliminary engineering for that alone would cost up to $10 billion, Reuters reported.
The fleet of surveillance satellites would work with a separate fleet of attack satellites armed with missiles and lasers to shoot down enemy threats, Reuters reported.
SpaceX and its partners are not bidding for the weaponized satellite component.
Unusually SpaceX has proposed that the government would pay a “subscription” for the satellites’ services rather than owning them outright—a move which could accelerate the project through the normal Pentagon procurement system, which Musk, Thiel and others including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have attacked for being sclerotic.
Some officials have expressed concern over the pay-as-you-go model, according to two sources.
Space Force General Michael Guetlein has been involved in discussions about whether SpaceX should take on ownership and operational control of its portion of the system, according to two sources.
Alternatives being considered include the U.S. government fully owning and operating the system, or retaining ownership while outsourcing operations to contractors. Other defense contractors are also trying to bid for the dome, with Lockheed Martin setting up a gold-colored website to tout its offering.
The level of government contracting Musk is going for comes after he donated over a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump, then became head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which he has proposed himself.
Reuters reported that the SpaceX-Pentagon talks are not in line with normal procedures and said that officials felt under pressure to be “sensitive and deferential” because of Musk’s relationship with Trump.
Some sources told Reuters that the decision process for the “Golden Dome” is still in its early stages, suggesting that the ultimate structure and who is chosen to work on it could change completely in the coming months.
If the SpaceX-led group secures the “Golden Dome” contract, it would mark Silicon Valley’s most significant breakthrough in the highly profitable defense contracting sector — and deal a setback to traditional defense giants.
Palantir is already heavily involved in government software contracting and defense contracts. Anduril is building drones and counter-drones, has bought a series of other companies including a solid rocket manufacturer and has been contracted by the Air Force to work on developing future combat aircraft. Both it and Palantir have names inspired by “The Lord of the Rings,” of which Musk is also an obsessive fan. One of Anduril’s co-founders is Palmer Luckey, the brother-in-law of Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman.
Other established players like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and RTX are expected to have a major presence in the competition, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and SpaceX for comment.
