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Elon Musk could soon acquire another government contract worth $2.4 billion as the Federal Aviation Administration considers ditching Verizon for the billionaire’s Starlink, according to a report.
As Musk hacks his way through the federal government, the FAA is “close to canceling” the contract to overhaul the system that is integral to supporting U.S. air traffic control and handing it to the mogul’s satellite company, the Washington Post reports.
In a statement, the FAA told The Independent that “no decisions have been made” about the contract.
Verizon was awarded the contract in 2023 and tasked with upgrading the system that different air traffic control facilities use to communicate. Musk said that the network used by air traffic controllers is aging and requires drastic and quick action to modernize it. “The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk,” the billionaire said in a post on X Monday.
Verizon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FAA confirmed it is testing Starlink at its facility in Atlantic City this week and at sites in Alaska but said it has been considering using Musk’s company “since the prior administration to increase reliability at remote sites.”
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The emergence of Starlink as a potential replacement for the Verizon-led effort underscores the extraordinary conflicts of interest inherent in Musk’s position as both a “senior government employee” and a business mogul in charge of a sprawling array of companies.
“Who’s looking out for the public interest here when you get the person who’s cutting budgets and personnel from the FAA, suddenly trying to benefit from still another government contract?” John P. Pelissero, director of an ethics center at Santa Clara University, told the Post.
“There’s very limited transparency,” Jessica Tillipman, a contracting law expert at George Washington University, told the Associated Press. Referring to Musk, she said: “Without that transparency, we have no idea how much non-public information he has access to or what role he’s playing in what contracts are being awarded.”
The move to bring in more experts within Musk’s circle follows the Trump administration’s decision to fire hundreds of FAA personnel. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are leading the charge to trim the federal budget and reduce the government’s workforce.
Last week it was reported that Musk’s SpaceX was also being drafted in to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control systems.
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SpaceX already holds billions in government contracts. Its staff visited Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia last week, according to transport secretary Sean Duffy, who said that President Donald Trump has “ordered” him to “deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.”
The FAA contract is not Musk’s only conflict. His acolytes have also taken over many of the operations at the General Services Administration, which controls real estate and contracting for numerous government agencies.
GSA currently offers other agencies the ability to launch payloads through an existing SpaceX contract — putting the agency in a position to direct business toward Musk. The Department of Transportation regulates aspects of SpaceX and his electric car company Tesla.
NASA and the Department of Defense are major customers of SpaceX. His brain-computer interface company Neuralink has regulatory issues in front of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
AP contributed
