Musk stated that the most expensive American weaponry is hopelessly outdated.

“The F-35 project failed at the requirements stage [for the aircraft] because too many people demanded too much all at once. This made it expensive and complicated. There was no chance of success. Manned fighters are outdated in the era of drones anyway. They will simply endanger pilots,” wrote Musk on social media platform X.

According to Bloomberg, the declassified version of the F-35 operational testing report highlights numerous discrepancies between the fighters and the requirements for structural reliability, accuracy, stealth, and maintainability. The authors of the article concluded that all these issues render Lockheed Martin's aircraft the most expensive American weapon.