Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Project Meridian on September 30, 2026, appointing Elon Musk as one of three co-leads alongside Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich for a 120-day Pentagon study on future warfare domains, technologies, and capabilities. The initiative, overseen by Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael, runs through late January 2027 with findings due by January 28, aligning directly with the market's January 27 cutoff. Official statements and the commissioning memorandum frame the effort as a fixed-term advisory role drawing on private-sector expertise, with no reported changes, opposition, or procedural barriers since the launch. This recent formal designation and the project's short, defined timeline underpin trader consensus that Musk will remain in the position through the resolution window.