The data show the US is also on the hook for about $14 billion for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service at numerous offices, such as a Department of Interior facility in Nevada.
The data could be outdated or include errors, but many of the listed figures line up with press releases from agencies such as the US Space Force. Some of the funding is subject to Congressional approval, and a portion could end up going to SpaceX’s rivals.
But SpaceX’s competitors have faced numerous technical setbacks, and Musk’s company remains the dominant market leader. The billionaire said this week that SpaceX would earn about $15.5 billion in revenue this year, nearly double estimates from two years ago. SpaceX has accounted for 134 of the 166 orbital launches in the US so far this year, according to tracking by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
WIRED didn’t review detailed contracts or search for deals the government may have struck with Musk’s companies through intermediaries. For instance, some government agencies may be buying ads on Musk’s X social media platform through advertising agencies.
The government’s vehicle fleet includes Tesla electric vehicles, according to documents online, and the General Services Administration recently paid the company for maintenance.
But the GSA’s annual Federal Fleet Report doesn’t break down the number of vehicles by manufacturer or offer details on future spending. The report lists 7,706 battery electric vehicles in the government fleet. Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused orders of new zero-emissions vehicles, dealing a blow to companies such as Tesla.
DOGE Pinching
Musk’s companies have benefitted from government support for years. In February, an analysis by the Washington Post found Musk businesses had received at least $38 billion since 2003 in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits across the US, including at the state and local levels. A New York Times analysis from October identified at least $15.4 billion in federal government contracts over the past decade for Tesla and SpaceX.
But Musk himself has tried to take a chainsaw to federal spending through his work leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency which claims to have saved $180 billion since January, including by canceling contracts, though that figure remains highly disputed.
Some of DOGE’s efforts were temporarily blocked by the federal courts and also drew protests from federal labor unions, public activists, Congress, states, and even Trump’s own aides and cabinet secretaries. Last month, Musk said he was stepping away from DOGE work to focus on his companies.
Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives haven’t stopped, though. Hiring freezes remain in effect, and the importance of stretching each dollar further is being emphasized more than ever at many federal agencies, according to representatives at two companies with major government contracts. They declined to be named out of fear of retribution from Trump.
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