By installing tech billionaires Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey in advisory positions on a Pentagon project on the future of war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave extraordinary influence to two of Maga’s biggest campaign donors, both of whom own companies that benefit from federal defense contracts. executive. As The Guardian has reported, Michael made millions in profits from private company Musk’s AI stocks while in federal office and while leading the Department of Defense’s artificial intelligence efforts. Along with Luckey and Musk, Project Meridian will also include Trump loyalist and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Musk was one of the main financiers of Trump’s 2024 victory, spending more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in the run-up to the election. Recent campaign records show he remains a major force in the upcoming midterm elections. His America Pac spent $3.4 million attacking Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, for example. In the tight Texas Senate race, America Pac spent $6.4 million opposing Democrat James Talarico and $1 million to support Trump-backed Ken Paxton. Elon Musk at the White House in Washington DC on September 29. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPAMusk SpaceX has been a crucial contractor for US space programs since 2018, and in the second Trump administration its company has become a key player in Trump’s favorite Golden Dome ballistic missile defense project, a phenomenally expensive endeavor that could cost up to $1.2 trillion. Musk dwarfs Luckey in resources and fame, but Luckey has achieved immense celebrity in the world and in defense contracting. Initially a young celebrity in the tech world for inventing a virtual reality headset, Luckey later founded Anduril, a defense contracting company that has already won major federal contracts. Luckey has also become one of the most important “packagers” for Republican candidates on the West Coast, as The Guardian reported in August. One of the sources called him “the godfather of Republican fundraising on the West Coast.” Invitations to political fundraisers obtained by The Guardian show that Luckey hosted and co-hosted events for candidates ranging from Trump himself to Ken Calvert, Rick Scott, Mehmet Oz, Ted Cruz and others. The most recent event took place on August 22, where he and his wife co-hosted a $50,000-a-head “hold the Senate” initiative, featuring guests John Thune of South Dakota, Mike Rogers of Michigan, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Jon Husted of Ohio. It’s not necessarily a mystery what Musk and Luckey think about the future of war. Palmer, 34, whose company is backed by Joshua Kushner’s equity fund and has acquired makers of underwater drones, unmanned aerial vehicles and space technology, has already spoken about his philosophy on war. Earlier this year, for example, he said he thought war in the second half of this century would involve an “underground” conflict, with vehicles that can “move through the Earth’s crust in the same way that submarines move through water.” He has stated that his company has “working prototypes of underground systems.” party,” said Brendan Glavin of Open Secrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign spending. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
