SpaceX CEO Elon Musk redirected his criticism of the Federal Aviation Administration’s aging system to L3Harris Thursday, after discovering that Verizon was not the company behind the software. 

Mr. Musk issued a rare correction on Thursday following a firm rejection from Verizon. 

“Correction: the ancient system that is rapidly declining in capability was made by L3Harris,” Mr. Musk wrote in an X post. “The new system that is not yet operational is from Verizon.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Musk accused Verizon of operating a faulty system that was putting travelers at risk. Verizon firmly rejected Mr. Musk’s claims, confirming that the company was under contract to improve the FAA’s systems but have not yet deployed their fixes.

“To be clear, the FAA systems currently in place are run by L3Harris and not Verizon,” the company said in a statement. “We are at the beginning of a multi-year contract to replace antiquated, legacy systems. Our teams have been working with the FAA’s technology teams and our solution stands ready to be deployed.”

L3Harris could not be reached for comment. 

The confusion follows speculation about the future of Verizon’s $2.4 billion contract, which was inked in 2023. The deal gives Verizon 15 years to overhaul the FAA’s communications infrastructure. However, reports from this week suggest that the FAA is considering canceling the contract and instead giving the job to Mr. Musk’s Starlink.

The FAA is already testing several Starlink terminals at stations in Alaska and New Jersey. The administration said it had been considering using Starlink’s terminals for years and that the technology provides reliable communications to remote locations like Alaska. 

News that the FAA may cancel the Verizon contract for a deal with Starlink has raised concerns about conflicts of interest, due to Mr. Musk’s close relationship with President Trump. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy rejected claims that Mr. Musk’s involvement in FAA affairs could be a conflict of interest, asserting that the tech billionaire is not involved in policy decisions. 

Still, Mr. Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency, which is focused on cutting federal spending at agencies like the FAA. Last week, the administration fired around 350 employees at the direction of DOGE. Mr. Duffy said that none of the fired workers were air-traffic controllers.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.