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DOGE-Ball: Elon vs. The F-35

The Pentagon’s most expensive program has a powerful new enemy in Elon Musk. But the electric-car, social-media, and rocket tycoon faces two major obstacles in his quest for efficiency: Congress, and his buddy in the White House.

Elon Musk and the f-35
Musk’s headline-grabbing slash-and-burn power will be futile if the actual president-elect isn’t on his side here. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Abby Livingston
November 30, 2024

It was probably inevitable that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and incoming co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, would come after the most expensive system in the most expensive corner of the U.S. government. That, of course, is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the super-stealthy plane that’s now run up an estimated $2 trillion price tag for the Department of Defense, which is exactly the sort of profligate spending that Elon and Vivek Ramaswamy were ostensibly recruited to tame. And, as with many things Elon, his crusade started on the social platform formerly known as Twitter.