() SpaceX has reportedly emerged as a frontrunner to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump’s plans for a space-based “Golden Dome” missile defense system. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has dismissed the reports.

Since 2011, Israel’s Iron Dome has been a critical component of its air defense system. The Pentagon has received interest from more than 180 companies to develop a similar system for the United States, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, with SpaceX in the lead, according to Reuters.

SpaceX has reportedly proposed a “subscription service” in which the government would pay for access to the technology, rather than own the system outright.

A week after Trump took office, the White House announced intentions for a missile defense shield in the U.S. and later rebranded the shield as the Golden Dome.

“As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future,” Trump said. “As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.”

Some critics argue there is a conflict of interest in Trump’s plan.

“I think this is exactly what the American people find really repelling, is that Donald Trump’s biggest donor is actually cashing in on the investment he made in Donald Trump, and it’s candidly, particularly what Donald Trump promised he wouldn’t do remember all the talk of swamps,” Navin Nayak, president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, told “The Hill on ” on Thursday.

On Thursday, Musk denied bidding on the project.

“SpaceX has not tried to bid for any contract in this regard,” he wrote on social media. “Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars. If the President asks us to help in this regard, we will do so, but I hope that other companies (not SpaceX) can do this.”

Military analysts estimate the Golden Dome system would cost billions of dollars.

Trump recently signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review the department’s programs, with those more than 15% behind schedule or 15% over cost at risk of elimination.