Trump Turns To Jeff Bezos's Project Kuiper As Elon Musk Feud Threatens SpaceX Role In $175 Billion 'Golden Dome' Defense Project: Report
The Trump administration is reportedly contemplating other potential partners, including Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Project Kuiper, for the Golden Dome missile defense system amid soured ties with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
What Happened: The Trump administration is seeking new partners for the Golden Dome missile defense system, a $175 billion space-based shield, Reuters reported, citing sources. The administration is considering Amazon’s Project Kuiper and major defense contractors as potential collaborators.
This shift represents a strategic move away from the reliance on SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks are integral to U.S. military communications. The relationship between Musk and Trump has been deteriorating, leading to a public fallout on June 5.
Even prior to the rift, the Pentagon and White House had started considering alternatives to SpaceX, wary of the risks involved in relying too heavily on a single partner for such a critical project.
Despite SpaceX's scale, proven track record and government contracting experience, its involvement in the Golden Dome project now appears uncertain. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has approached Project Kuiper, which has a low-Earth orbit satellite network, signaling a growing openness to partnering with commercial tech firms for national defense initiatives.
Amazon, Pentagon and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
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Why It Matters: The Trump administration’s move comes after a report suggested that the review of SpaceX’s federal contracts found them indispensable to the Defense Department and NASA. This review was initiated following Trump’s public contemplation of severing ties with Musk’s businesses.
That being said, Musk’s AI company xAI recently introduced its AI model Grok for government uses, following a multi-million-dollar defense contract from the Pentagon.
Though Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and executive chairman, had previously remarked that while Kuiper would be “primarily commercial,” it could also have defense applications, according to the report.
The public feud between Trump and Musk led NASA and Pentagon officials to urge SpaceX’s competitors, including Blue Origin, to expedite the development of alternative rockets and spacecraft.
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