Elon Musk's team, which heads the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and owns the large space technology manufacturer SpaceX, is putting pressure on the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to get a contract worth $2.4 billion, The Washington Post (WP) reported, citing its sources.
This is a contract signed between the FAA and Verizon in 2023 for a period of 15 years to massively modernize the country's air traffic control communication systems, WP said. The current system, introduced in 2002, is largely outdated and needs to be replaced with modern solutions. Discussions on this issue intensified after the collision of a passenger plane with a military helicopter in Washington on January 30, which killed 67 people.
DOGE specialists are working at the FAA to streamline current processes and identify weaknesses in the agency's work, while a team of SpaceX employees has been sent to the aviation regulator's offices at the request of the Trump administration to help modernize outdated technology. Musk himself, whose SpaceX is building the Starlink global communications network, has publicly criticized Verizon's products, saying that "Verizon's system is broken and puts air travelers at serious risk."
According to WP sources, Musk's team intends to achieve the transfer of the contract from Verizon to SpaceX. Several high-ranking FAA officials have refused to sign documents that would allow a change of contractor. Then, as the publication points out, Musk decided to influence the transfer of the contract through US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy in order to achieve a solution that would be beneficial to him.
As noted by Jessica Tillipman, associate dean of government law and public procurement at George Washington University, terminating the contract would lead to high transaction costs and raise the question of corruption risks in Musk's activities. "With Musk's current position at DOGE and his proximity to Trump, he and his company are given an advantage and a contract. "Who cares about the public interest when the guy who is cutting the budgets and staff of the FAA is suddenly trying to profit from another government contract?" added John Pellissero, director of the Center for Ethics at Santa Clara University.