SpaceX emerged as a clear beneficiary of the Trump administration\u2019s renewed push to accelerate military innovation, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth openly praised Elon Musk’s private space enterprise during a visit to the company\u2019s Starbase launch site in Texas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remarks highlighted Musk\u2019s improving relationship with the White House, as well as SpaceX\u2019s growing role in U.S. defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at SpaceX\u2019s Starbase facility in Brownsville, Texas, Hegseth criticized what he described as a \u201crisk-averse culture\u201d among traditional defense contractors and called for faster innovation modeled after Musk\u2019s approach. He confirmed that the Department of Defense plans to integrate Musk\u2019s Grok AI platform into Pentagon systems, which is part of the administration’s efforts to make the U.S. military an \u201cAI-first warfighting force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hegseth stated that the Pentagon intends to deploy AI models across both classified and unclassified networks, signaling a willingness to push past earlier efforts to limit military use of artificial intelligence. His comments aligned closely with President Donald Trump\u2019s recent call for a $500 billion increase in defense spending, Bloomberg News<\/em><\/a> noted. Trump has also warned major contractors that slower production and shareholder-focused practices could put future contracts at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Hegseth criticized legacy defense firms, SpaceX was held up as an example of how aggressive timelines, vertical integration, and iterative development could reshape defense strategies. \u201cWe need to be blunt here; we can no longer afford to wait a decade for our legacy prime contractors to deliver a perfect system. Winning requires a new playbook. Elon wrote it with his algorithm: question every requirement, delete the dumb ones and accelerate like hell,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n