Elon Musk has joined forced with Republican power broker Peter Thiel on a bid to help build Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence shield.

Mr Musk’s SpaceX is partnering with Mr Thiel’s Silicon Valley data company Palantir Technologies and US drone builder Anduril Industries on a joint proposal for the project.

It would involve SpaceX supplying up to 1,000 orbiters that would provide an early warning of a missile or nuclear launch against the US.

A separate fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers, probably from another manufacturer, would then shoot down the enemy warheads.

While Golden Dome has attracted interest from more than 180 companies, the three companies have already pitched the plan to top officials from the White House and the Pentagon, according to Reuters, which reported the story citing unnamed sources.

The situation is likely to fuel criticism that Mr Musk is profiting from his political role in the White House. He holds the title of “special government employee” at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), the agency Mr Trump created to reduce wasteful federal spending.

US defence officials are said to be conscious of the relationship between Mr Trump and Mr Musk, who donated almost $300m (£227m) to his election campaign.

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Mr Thiel, the billionaire PayPal co-founder, is also a prominent supporter of Mr Trump and played an influential role in the rise of JD Vance, now vice president. Anduril Industries was set up by Palmer Luckey, another Trump supporter.

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