Billionaire Elon Musk has endorsed the theory that UFOs are a 'new weapons program' hidden within the US government's vast black budget.
The tech mogul recently told Tucker Carlson that he believes 'we are the aliens' because he has never seen extraterrestrial life in his time running SpaceX.
'Unidentified flying objects' are one thing,' the tech mogul said in the interview, 'but there's always a bunch of classified programs that are underway: new aircraft, new missiles and things.'
His statements echoed that of the Pentagon, itself — which reported that a spike in UFO sightings from the 1950s and 60s had been caused by tests of advanced US spy planes and space technology.
But Musk promised to be the first person to expose extraterrestrial life, vowing to post any evidence he uncovers on his social media site X the moment he finds it.
Elon Musk told pundit Tucker Carlson that 'Unidentified flying objects' are one thing, but there's always a bunch of classified programs that are underway: new aircraft, new missiles and things.' He opined that UFOs are likely not aliens but a top secret 'new weapons program'
'I would guarantee that the split-second I see any evidence of aliens, I will immediately post that on the X platform,' Musk told Carlson on the pundit's new show, which is hosted on the social media site X.
'It will probably be our number one post of all time,' the billionaire added.
But Musk said he believes UFOs seen in the skies now are classified military vehicles.
'Where are the aliens? Why don't I see them,' Musk said to Tucker.
'A lot of people think we see aliens, but I have not seen any evidence.'
He continued to explain that SpaceX has more than 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and 'not once have we had to maneuver around an alien spacecraft.'
Many skeptical commentators have long maintained that UFOs could be classified US military test planes or other next-generation craft like the the Silent Ventus drone.
The drone was made by Florida-based start-up Undefined Technologies and generates thrust by ionizing the air with custom-made electrodes.
SpaceX has also been rumored to be building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified $1.8 billion contract with US intelligence agency the National Reconnaissance Office, which may have been the secret weapons Musk was referring to.
But the comments from the on-again, off-again contender for the world's richest man elicited mixed reactions online, including from reporters responsible for bringing to light some of America's most credentialed and high-profile UFO whistleblowers.
Investigative journalist Ross Coulthart — who conducted the first televised interview with UFO whistleblower David Grusch last year — has long maintained that Musk knows more than he is letting on about the government's secret UFO programs.
'I've been told by people who are aware of what Elon Musk and SpaceX are up to, that he has been read in to parts of "The Program,"' Coulthart told viewers of the cable channel NewsNation this May.
'But at the moment, he's taking the position he's taken,' he added. 'Let's see how long that lasts.'
Other critics on social media were less measured in their criticism of Musk's comments, however.
'So Elon is saying the USG has tech that can go from space to the surface of the ocean in seconds while also making sharp angle turns with no visible means of propulsion or wings and instantly disappear in front of pilots' eyes,' an X user shared.
'Why is he wasting money on #SpaceX then?'
A UAP researcher said Musk sounded almost 'exactly like Mick West' during the interview.
'It's making sense. They're all on the same team,' Robert WR commented.
'They're using the same words and same method of saying, 'it's PROBABLY this,' without any shred of evidence. They're hypocrites bc that's what they accuse the ufo com. of.'
But Musk is not the only one to come forward with the theory. In March, US officials said there was 'no evidence' that the US government had encountered alien life and the UFOs seen by American are merely objects from Earth.
While the public criticizes Musk on X about his comments, he has been at least consistent with his opinion on UFOs throughout the year.
In May, the SpaceX founder said the people who believe there are aliens among us are the same people who believe NASA's moon landings were fake.
Speaking on a panel titled 'How to save the human race and other light topics' at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference held in Los Angeles, Musk gave a similar response to what he shared with Tucker.
Musk cited no secret knowledge for his assessment on Carlon's program (above) - only his management of a worldwide satellite internet network via Starlink. 'We've got 6,000 satellites in orbit and not once have we had to maneuver around an alien spacecraft,' Musk said
'I've not seen any evidence of aliens,' Musk said. 'And SpaceX, with the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO. [...] Never. So I'm like, okay, I don't see any evidence of aliens.'
Nevertheless, Musk's network of 6,426 Starlink satellites currently orbiting Earth as of September 2024, do routinely engage in evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions, as many as 275 such dodges per day to avoid other objects in space.
This week, Musk offered his best, unclassified assessment of what pilots and other military eyewitnesses were encountering when they report a out of this world craft.
'If you had the top secret compartmented clearance, you would know about this new program,' Musk told Carlson as a hypothetical. 'So, then, you know, some pilot sees something moving fast and says, 'Hey! I saw a UFO!''
Musk continued, speaking from the voice of a hypothetical senior Pentagon official: 'Yeah, that was actually a new weapons program but we can't tell you that.'
Musk's doubling-down on his stance this week was met by a similarly jaded response from Las Vegas-based KLAS-TV new reporter George Knapp, who has made a career breaking stories on the UFO beat from FBI raids of Area 51 citizen watchdogs to the 'Mosul orb.'
'Great news,' Knapp posted to Musk's X platform. 'So when do they finally deploy those nifty Tic Tac [UFO] craft seen in 2004?'
The infamous 2004 Nimitz 'Tic Tac' UFO encounter has remained unsolved to the present day, meriting a mention before Congress last summer when a US Navy pilot eyewitness to the baffling pill-shaped object testified before Congress .