SpaceX teams up with Thiel's Palantir, Anduril on American Golden Dome(www.msn.com)
41 pointsby muskdom15 hours ago10 comments
  • paradox24215 hours ago
    I guess it's not corruption if you do it out in the open?
    • throwaway7737110 hours ago
      Starlink employees were circulating a petition to declassify SpaceX's role: https://change.org/p/declassify-elon-musk-s-space-based-weap...
    • marcusverus14 hours ago
      How do you figure?
      • text040411 hours ago
        Musk bought his way into an unelected position with a great amount of power over government spending, and Thiel chose JD Vance as vice president. They are now using that influence to direct taxpayer money into the companies which they have major stakes in, in order to enrich themselves and their friends.
        • disqard10 hours ago
          You can't just say the quiet part out loud like that!

          Edit: On further reflection, it actually sounds rather banal when stated that way -- they just bought the election, so that they could increase their already-staggering fortunes.

        • moscoe9 hours ago
          Don’t hate the player…
          • 9 hours ago
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          • wpm8 hours ago
            I absolutely will hate the player because they’re the only ones fucking up the game. No one else is doing this shit. Mama mia!
    • throwaway109515 hours ago
      [dead]
      • unsnap_biceps14 hours ago
        The linked video in the change.org post [1] talks about rods from god (guided tungsten rods) rather than hypersonic weapons. tungsten rods are more of an offensive weapon, as once they intercept a missile, they'll keep falling and hit the ground under it...

        1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79e8Y2Mgq-0

        • throwaway109513 hours ago
          The actual weapons are hypersonic, in particular C-HGB and some missiles made by Castelion.

          They most certainly can reach ground targets..

    • 11 hours ago
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    • kernal11 hours ago
      So you’re against the defense of the nation? Or would you rather award it to defense contractors that charge $10,000 for bolts.
      • text040410 hours ago
        I'm against spending billions more on "defense" and instead using that money to solve actual problems that Americans face on a daily basis.
    • Georgelemental12 hours ago
      Competence is not a crime
      • gibbitz8 hours ago
        Who do we think is competent here? Failing up is not the same as success.
      • 11 hours ago
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  • linotype12 hours ago
    No money for Medicaid but plenty for a weapon system that will never be used. Got it.
  • bluesounddirect14 hours ago
    I'm sorry a "golden dome" sounds like it going to be some sort of dirty act on an adult website .
    • mattashii11 hours ago
      The debris created by this system will come raining down on use, too. Much like a shower, if you will.
  • togetheragainor15 hours ago
    This is much better alternative compared to American defense just being captured by Lockheed Martin and Northrop forever.
    • unsnap_biceps15 hours ago
      Is it? Why is this set of companies going to be better than the old guard?

      Honestly, given Musk's meddling with starlink access in Ukraine, I'm hesitant to give him control over hypersonic missiles in orbit. I've never had a similar concern around Lockheed or Northrop.

      • Georgelemental12 hours ago
        Different incentives. Lockheed and Northrop make their big bucks on “cost-plus” contracts, which is a euphemism for “paying the company to fail”. SpaceX and Anduril avoid that type of contract
      • barrister14 hours ago
        I think the presumption is that Musk and the new guard are frugal and careful with money as seen by his passion for DOGE.
        • kevincrane13 hours ago
          But, as also seen with DOGE, they’re careless and refuse to do even cursory research on anything beyond the first-order effects of their actions which, to me at least, seems like a terrible set of traits for being in charge of weaponry.
          • UltraSane9 hours ago
            Musk behaved the EXACT same way when he took over Twitter and wanted to move out of one of the 3 main data centers they used. Actual experts told him it would take a year so he instead impulsively hires basic movers to rip the servers out and was surprised at how many things this broke. He said "I didn't realize how many places that data center was hardcoded". Except people absolutely told him that.
        • NeutralCrane8 hours ago
          I don’t think he’s particularly frugal. How much money did he blow buying his favorite social network again?

          DOGE (and Twitter) are examples of a modern American business management affliction: if you can’t think of anything to create, the next best thing is to start tearing other things down in the name of “efficiency”. Reap the short term benefits and then get out before it collapses.

        • thfuran13 hours ago
          But DOGE is a sham that's more interested in disrupting the government than frugality.
        • UltraSane10 hours ago
          Only gullible people actually think that. Musk is using DOGE to settle scores and shut down agencies investigating him or regulating his companies or ones he doesn't like.
          • disqard10 hours ago
            Thank you for plainly stating the obvious!

            It's exhausting repudiating the "good faith arguments" online.

            The simple explanation is correct: he's mean, petty, insecure, and greedy, and is using this opportunity to "get even" and "get even richer".

            • UltraSane9 hours ago
              Everything Musk has done in the past few years has proven he is not to be believed or trusted in any way.

              He is a destructive moron. He is the gremlin on the wing of the plane. Between Tesla, Twitter, and now the Federal Government he might have fired more people than anyone else in history.

        • mindslight12 hours ago
          Sarcasm doesn't translate well to online comments. See also: Poe's law.
      • netsharc13 hours ago
        Imagine President Harris saying "we need the system activated, Putin is threatening us" and the Ketamine-Head deciding otherwise...
        • defrost13 hours ago
          FWiW Musk is being increasingly referred to as "Ketamine Karen" in the UK and AU ..
          • timeon5 hours ago
            Ketaminov on the continent.
    • zfg3 hours ago
      Doesn't seem to be. SpaceX is issuing direct threats to civil servants:

      https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/faa-worker...

      It's grubby.

    • croes14 hours ago
      The outcome will be the same, just the benefactor will change.
  • mindslight12 hours ago
    This American defense industry revival soured pretty quickly with its weapons now poised to go to Russia instead of defending the free world.
  • throwaway105011 hours ago
    This has been public only recently ..

    Last year Starlink employees were circulating a petition to declassify SpaceX's role: https://change.org/p/declassify-elon-musk-s-space-based-weap...

    FYI they changed the name from "American Iron Dome "to "Golden Dome" only recently: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/the-...

  • muskdom15 hours ago
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  • throwask14 hours ago
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  • SoftMachine15 hours ago
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