Elon Musk isn’t taking the news of his partnership with Donald Trump ending too well. The Trump administration is reportedly looking for companies that will replace SpaceX’s role in the Golden Dome project. The decision has evoked a strong reaction, with Musk claiming that Trump is “breaking the law.”
The Golden Dome is considered to be a next-generation missile defense project. The initiative will enable America to combat intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and even space-based missiles.
Trump has previously spoken about the initiative, claiming that it will be a “state-of-the-art system.” The system will be capable of deploying “next-generation technologies across the land, sea, and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.”
A recent Reuters report revealed that the Trump administration is looking for new collaborators post the Trump-Musk fallout. Various companies, including Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Lockheed Martin, and L3Harris are being considered for the contract.
“Even before the spat, officials at the Pentagon and White House had begun exploring alternatives to SpaceX,” the original report claimed. The report shared that the officials were “wary of over-reliance” even before Trump and the billionaire had a public fallout.
How US golden dome works. pic.twitter.com/W1Sca9kvPg
— Liberty Pill Memes (@LibertyPillMeme) July 19, 2025
The officials reportedly did not want to rely on a singular partner for the “ambitious” $175 billion space-based defense shield project. Elon Musk took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to talk about how the Trump administration would be “breaking the law” if there’s any truth to the rumor.
“Federal acquisition regulations require using the best provider at the best price. Anything else would be breaking the law,” the Tesla CEO wrote in his post. Musk wrote the post in response to the Reuters report.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper seems to be the most promising contender in the race so far. The initiative has successfully launched 78 satellites into space. IF chosen, Amazon’s Project Kuiper will be responsible for missile tracking and communications.
BREAKING: President Trump unveils the “Golden Dome” air defense shield initiative, a project inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.
Reminder: America needs to spend money developing their own because lsraeI won’t share the technology (and America paid for it)
pic.twitter.com/6GbTpvnTFB— ADAM (@AdameMedia) March 5, 2025
Experts in the field are repeatedly expressing concern over the risks of choosing Amazon’s Project Kuiper as a collaborator for the Golden Dome initiative. Worries about the commercial platform increasing the risk of a cybersecurity attack have been expressed.
The Golden Dome initiative itself might see a delay given the current disruptions. Trump had previously claimed that the project would be ready in January 2029. The initiative is estimated to cost half a trillion dollars. The President has also claimed that the initiative will be able to protect the U.S. and Canada from missile attacks.
