Elon Musk runs the risk of igniting Governor Greg Abbott's wrath by portraying the people who run the Fort Worth defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin as morons for their work on sophisticated fighter jets that the Texas leader has lavished with praise throughout the past decade.
Musk - the South African who's Donald Trump's new right hand man - sent Lockheed stock tumbling this week when he berated the F-35 planes as dinosaur technology that should be replaced by drones. A 22-year resident of the United States who's been a Canadian citizen as well, Musk's opinion matters in light of his new role as the co-director of a new Department of Government Efficiency that Donald Trump created for him to run.
But Musk may not have realized that he could be picking a fight with the powerful Republican governor in the nation's second largest state with an implied threat to defund the F-35 jets in a move that could trigger layoffs and damage the economy in the Fort Worth area were they're made.
The F-35 program produces the world's most advance fighter plane with multiple roles. The plane's production has created 170,000 jobs or more nationwide while having an economic impact of more than $3 billion in the Lone Star State alone, according to a Lockheed statement in 2022.
"The last two decades in Fort Worth have been heavily focused on F-35 development and production," the company added. "The F-35 is the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter – providing unmatched capabilities to military forces around the world, securing high-tech, high-skill jobs for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, and elevating international security by allowing for more integrated coalition operations."
But Musk argued that the people who developed and built the F-35 jets are idiots. The Space X and Tesla founder's blunt assessment raised the specter of substantial funding cuts to the fighter jet program when Musk's agency makes recommendations for the next budget cycle. Musk's words should be offensive to Abbott and other Republicans who've had close relations with Lockheed Martin and taken money from its political action committee.
Republican State Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth came to Lockheed's defense with a statement that voiced disapproval of Musk's remarks in a soft and non-confrontational manner.
Goldman vowed to oppose potential F-35 cutbacks after he's sworn into the U.S. House in January.
“I’m going to fight like hell to make sure those cuts aren’t made,” Goldman said. “All that still has to go through Congress.”
Goldman joined Abbott in 2016 at a ceremony where the governor announced that Israel had purchased a fleet of F-35s.
"I am proud the F-35 - the most technologically advanced fighter jet - is manufactured here in Fort Worth by Lockheed Martin," Abbott said at the event. "This stealth fighter is already serving the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines. Now it will aid our ally Israel."
Goldman contended this week that the fighter planes had given Israel a boost in a war with Hamas forces.
But Abbott, who'd been the F-35s most vocal Texas supporter, has remained mum on the prospects that the program could be slashed if not shut down.
"I am proud the F-35 - the most technologically advanced fighter jet - is manufactured here in Fort Worth by Lockheed Martin," the governor said six years ago. "This stealth fighter is already serving the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines. Now it will aid our ally Israel."
Abbott appointed a Lockheed Martin vice-president to the Texas Space Commission earlier this year. The governor also tapped a former longtime Lockheed official who worked as a design engineer for the space agency governing board.
Lockheed Martin defended the war planes this week. “As we did in his first term, we look forward to a strong working relationship with President Trump, his team, and also with the new Congress to strengthen our national defense,” the company said in a statement. “The F-35 is the most advanced, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world, a vital deterrent and the cornerstone of joint all-domain operations.”
