Former Ambassador Says Elon Musk Could Help Untangle AUKUS Submarine Logjam

‘The question now ... is to work out how they [DOGE] can streamline and better produce the submarines,’ said former Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos.

Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on March 24, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Arthur Sinodinos, the former Australian ambassador to the United States, expects tech giant Elon Musk to play a bigger role in streamlining the trilateral AUKUS partnership.

The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at revitalising the U.S. shipbuilding industry, with the tech billionaire assigned to review the country’s submarine construction on April 10 (AEST).

Musk has been tasked with a three-month investigation as to why it takes so long for the U.S. Navy to build vessels, while also looking for ways to streamline efficiency. Militaries across developed countries constantly grapple with issues of procurement, with cost overruns and delays a common occurrence.

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia will receive two to three U.S. Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to help counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Australian government estimated that the program would cost $53 billion to $63 billion (US$34 billion to US$41 billion) over the next decade, with a projected price tag of $368 billion in the next 30 years.

The USS Minnesota (SSN-783) Virginia-class fast attack submarine sails in the waters off the West Australian coast, on March 16, 2025. Colin Murty-Pool/Getty Images

However, Sinodinos said the costs would only be revealed when the equipment was delivered.

With the involvement of Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), Sinodinos expected changes to the AUKUS program.

“The question now, and Elon Musk is becoming involved in the process here, is to work out how they can streamline and better produce the submarines,” he told the Nine’s Today program.

“And so Elon Musk [will have a] big role potentially. Let’s see if we can get him to Australia to have a look at the shipyards and tell us what he thinks.”

The former ambassador said the United States was still committed to the security pact with Australia.

“My view is that there is, in the Congress, a capacity to keep supporting AUKUS, and that’s important because they provide the money,” he said.

Former Australian ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 1, 2017. Stefan Postles/Getty Images

Prime Minister Confident About AUKUS

Following Musk’s appointment, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed confidence in the prospect of the AUKUS program.

“I’m confident about AUKUS because I’ve had those first-hand discussions with the President of the United States, and also with more than 100 members of Congress, in the Senate during my state visit to the United States,” he told reporters.

“I’m also confident that people, when they make an assessment, know that this is in Australia’s national interest, but it’s also in the national interest of the United States.”

Concerns About Tariffs Raising AUKUS’ Costs

During an AUKUS dinner in Washington on April 9, Democratic Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine, who is an AUKUS supporter, warned that the recent steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could lift the costs of the submarine program.

“We are already having trouble getting these ships and subs on time [and] on budget. Increase those prices–it’s going to be a problem,” he said.

The senator also said he was concerned that the tariffs would send a negative message to the United States’ allies.

“Allies are friends. And in the world, as I said, the alliances that we have are our strategic edge—where we have such a qualitative advantage over anyone else,” he said.

“We’ve got to deal in a more reasonable and responsible way with this tariff question.”