Elon Musk is returning to an official advisory role in President Donald Trump’s administration, with the billionaire entrepreneur appointed to co-lead a Pentagon project examining the future of warfare.
Musk will lead Project Meridian alongside Palmer Luckey, co-founder of defence technology firm Anduril Industries, and former Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the initiative during a speech at the Quantico military base, describing it as an effort to harness expertise from technology, business, academia and public policy.
“Project Meridian” will be “an effort led by America’s best minds to study the future of warfare,” Hegseth said.
He said the Pentagon was seeking to use the country’s technological and innovative strengths to prepare for emerging forms of conflict.
“We are leveraging a unique source of American advantage, one our adversaries do not have: our innovators, our senior leaders and our technologists,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth said Project Meridian would examine emerging areas of warfare and identify the capabilities the United States would need to develop.
He described its task as an effort to “creatively look to the future and identify the domains that we must conquer and capabilities we must master”.
The project is expected to bring together selected private-sector executives and subject-matter experts from the innovation, academic and policy communities.
Hegseth has instructed the team to complete its work and submit its findings within 120 days.
Musk previously served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE, in Trump’s administration before leaving the position in May 2025.
The billionaire had been a prominent supporter of Trump’s successful return to the White House, but their relationship later deteriorated in a highly publicised dispute over the president’s spending legislation.
Following the disagreement, Musk resumed financial support for Republican political causes, including multimillion-dollar donations to individual candidates and conservative organisations.
His involvement in Project Meridian represents a renewed formal role within the Trump administration, bringing him back into government discussions on technology and national defence.
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