The person soon to be in charge of cutting federal spending is blasting a Lockheed Martin jet made in Fort Worth.
Billionaire Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, said Tuesday, Nov. 26, on X that the U.S. should pull the plug on the Lockheed-Martin’s F-35, made in Fort Worth.
“Some US weapons systems are good, albeit overpriced, but please, in the name of all that is holy, let us stop the worst military value for money in history that is the F-35 program!” he wrote.
The comment was one of several criticisms Musk made of the fighter, which is expected to cost the federal government more than $2 trillion over its life span, according to Defense News.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Musk and fellow-billionnaire Vivek Ramaswamy to head up his new Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE (yes, like the crypto currency.) They will pave the way for Trump’s administration to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
Musk ultimately aims to cut $2 trillion in annual federal spending, but in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he and Ramaswamy wrote that they plan to start with cutting $500 billion in federal spending that is not authorized by Congress.
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Musk shared a video on Sunday, Nov. 24 that appears to show a large group of drones made by China, captioning the post, “Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”
In another post on Monday, Nov. 25 Musk wrote: “The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people. This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes. And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed.”
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program supports more than 49,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Fort Worth area generates $9.4 billion in annual economic impact.
As a federal contractor, the company’s F-35 “plays a crucial role” in the Department of Defense’s “ability to meet current and future U.S. national security goals,” according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
But the program has seen production issues and rising costs as the Air Force and Navy plan to use the jets less. The F-35 has not met their readiness goals for the past six years, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Asked about Musk’s post in light of his expected role in Trump’s administration, the company said it is looking forward to working with the incoming president and Congress.
“As we did in his first term, we look forward to a strong working relationship with President Trump, his team, and also with the new Congress to strengthen our national defense,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement. “The F-35 is the most advanced, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world, a vital deterrent and the cornerstone of joint all-domain operations.”
Incoming U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, a Republican from Fort Worth, said he will fight for the continuation and expansion the F-35 program. He is taking over the district represented by Kay Granger, who is retiring.
Goldman said he respects much of who Musk is and the innovations he’s brought to the world, but that this is an area where they disagree. He praised the “brilliance of what the F-35 and the capabilities of what the F-35 has been able to do” for Israel in the war with Hamas. Musk might change his mind were he to have a conversation with the Israeli government, Goldman said.
“I’m going to fight like hell to make sure those cuts aren’t made,” Goldman said. “All that still has to go through Congress.”
Sen. John Cornyn, Republican representing Texas statewide, was not available for an interview on Nov. 26. Spokespersons for Rep. Marc Vesay, a Fort Worth Democrat, and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican also representing Texas Statewide, did not immediately return requests for comment.
Reached for comment, the Department of Defense directed the Star-Telegram to a Nov. 26 press briefing where Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder was asked about Musk’s comments on the F-35.
“As I’m sure you can appreciate, Mr. Musk is currently a private citizen,” Ryder said. “I’m not going to make any comments about what a private citizen may have to say about the F-35.”
Asked about Musk saying he was in a meeting with senior military officials, Ryder said he’s not aware of any official transition meetings.
“The President-elect’s transition team has not contacted the department yet to conduct those transitions, so I’m not aware of any — any official meetings,” Ryder said.
The Star-Telegram has reached out to Musk through communication teams at SpaceX and Tesla.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 5:37 PM.
