Golden Dome blow: Trump may sideline Musk from missile shield project; Bezos may cash in

The Trump administration is quietly looking for alternatives to SpaceX for its ambitious Golden Dome missile defence system, weeks after the public rift between the two, according to news agency Reuters.Until recently, Trump’s former political ally Elon Musk’s SpaceX was the top contender to help build the Golden Dome, a missile shield Trump has frequently touted in speeches.According to Wall Street Journal, Trump aides have launched a fresh review of SpaceX’s federal contracts, hoping to find potential overspending or loopholes. But the new review hasn’t yielded much. Most of SpaceX’s existing contracts — with Nasa and the Pentagon — were deemed too critical to tamper with.Despite the tensions, the US government remains deeply tied to Musk’s companies. Over the years, SpaceX and Tesla have benefited from billions in public funding and contracts. Still, Trump’s team is reportedly exploring whether competitors, including Jeff Bezos’ Amazon-backed Project Kuiper, can replace SpaceX in future projects like Golden Dome. Interestingly, Musk himself has said SpaceX isn’t interested in working on the missile shield. In April, he posted on his social media: “SpaceX has not tried to bid for any contract in this regard. Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.”