Musk's anti-Trump rant could cost him $175 billion Golden Dome project

The end of bromance between US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reportedly cost the latter some pretty huge business. The Golden Dome that Trump plans on building to safeguard the US from missiles was going to use satellites built by Musk's company. However, that seems to have changed, according to a Reuters report.

A satellite constellation built by SpaceX to monitor any kind of attacks targeting the US was part of the original plan. Drone manufacturer Anduril was to build an anti-missile defence system. But the Pentagon has now been given a free hand to pick whoever they want, and it is looking at using existing ground systems for missile defence.

A Reuters report states, "Because of the blowup, the Pentagon has been given the space to look at other alternatives."

A White House spokesman told Reuters, "The Trump Administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts."

Also Read: Elon Musk 'regrets' some of his posts about US President Donald Trump, says they went 'too far'

The Golden Dome has been pegged at a whopping $175 billion. If the Pentagon decided to go ahead with another contractor, it would be a huge loss for SpaceX. Trump had earlier threatened to "terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts" to save government money. This could come as a huge setback for Musk's companies since he currently has tens of billions of dollars' worth of government contracts.

Also Read: Donald Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile shield system: Cost, capabilities, and more, all you need to know

According to a Washington Post report, Musk's businesses have received $38 billion over the last two decades, and NASA and Defense Department contracts form a major portion of it.

Musk came down heavy on Trump after things soured between the two, going as far as to say that the president was in the Epstein files. He soon realised the rant could cost him, and so pulled back and apologised, saying that he had gone "too far" and regretted "some of my posts."

Golden Dome

Reuters quoted experts who don't think the Golden Dome is viable. "That people guiding the program or building it are approved based on their political affiliation signals a real concern that the project itself is very politicised and not being conducted on the technical merits," missile defence expert Laura Grego told Reuters.

Others think that the Golden Dome appears to be "chaotic" and "largely centred around lining the pockets of contractors." The report states that it is unclear that "the Golden Dome project even exists in any meaningful way at this point."