Elon Musk has become a pivotal figure in these talks, engaging with military officials, the White House, and Boeing to find a resolution, according to insiders.

Those close to Mr. Trump believe he views Boeing as a nearly hopeless case, often lamenting the company’s decline and expressing confusion over its struggles to produce aircraft effectively.

The current Air Force One jets, which are modified Boeing 747s, are over 30 years old and demand significant maintenance. For Trump, Air Force One represents a mark of authority and excellence, and he is frustrated at the notion of embarking on his second term using the same aging aircraft that transported President George H.W. Bush.

In a recent interview aired on Fox News’s “Hannity,” Trump’s tone towards Boeing turned more severe. Sitting next to Musk, he criticized the company, stating, “They are actually in default, Boeing,” adding, “They’ve been building this thing forever. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Demonstrating his determination to seek alternatives, Trump examined a luxury jet currently at Palm Beach International Airport. This late-model 747-8 was noted to have been owned by the Qatari royal family, as indicated by the tail number.

The practicality of these options remains uncertain. However, if security protocols are relaxed to expedite the production of the new aircraft, this could pose risks to both presidential safety and national security without careful oversight. Boeing executives have contended that it may be possible to safely lower security standards for specific roles that do not interact with the most critical systems of the planes.

Currently, the Air Force has committed to a contract worth $3.5 billion of a total of $4.3 billion allocated for the construction of the aircraft. Nonetheless, Boeing is currently lagging at least three years behind schedule and has reported $2.4 billion in losses on this contract. Factors related to decisions made during Trump’s initial term in office have also contributed to these delays, according to departing Air Force officials involved with the project.

Boeing’s contract to produce the new Air Force One was initially signed in 2018, with an expected delivery date of 2024.

A spokesperson for Boeing declined to comment, stating, “We don’t have anything to share.”

Boeing has indicated to the government that it might not deliver the new Air Force Ones until the conclusion of Trump’s second term. In contrast, Musk, known for setting ambitious and sometimes unrealistic deadlines at his companies, has claimed he can ensure delivery of at least one plane within a year.

Officials overseeing the project, which requires complex engineering to ensure the airworthiness and safety of the planes under potential missile threats or nuclear fallout, deem Musk’s timeline overly optimistic.

Trump has reassured those around him that if Musk can launch a rocket, he can likely master aircraft technology as well.

However, Musk’s involvement raises concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest, given that he currently has over $2.4 billion in Air Force contracts, and SpaceX directly competes with Boeing’s aerospace sector.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, commented on the situation: “It’s absurd that the delivery of a new Air Force One has been delayed for such an extended period. President Trump is actively seeking ways to expedite the process, which has been needed for quite some time.”

A Mobile Command Center

Several radical alternatives have been proposed by senior officials to avoid waiting for the delayed Boeing jets, such as retrofitting the Qatari aircraft within one year. However, current and former Pentagon officials have labeled these ideas as impractical. Certifying and modifying a temporary aircraft to fulfill the role of Air Force One could still take several years, they indicated.

Typically, any aircraft transporting the president is designated Air Force One, but it commonly refers to the specially designed planes meant to carry the Commander in Chief. Beyond merely transporting the president, Air Force One serves as a crucial airborne command center, enabling the president to manage responses during crises, including warfare or potential attacks.

Trump’s personal aircraft — upgraded extensively after his first term — features luxurious gold fixtures throughout, even on the seatbelt buckles. He frequently inquires whether passengers prefer his plane, affectionately named “Trump Force One,” to other options, and they almost universally respond in favor.

Trump also believes the iconic robin’s egg blue and white color scheme of the existing jets should be refreshed with a bolder red, white, and blue design.

While President Biden had little enthusiasm for monitoring Boeing’s progress resulting in stagnation during his term, the situation differs now with Trump returning to power and expressing impatience. During his time out of office, he kept a model of the upcoming Air Force One in his Mar-a-Lago office.

Both Trump and Musk have aired their frustrations to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg in multiple discussions dating back to November, shortly after Trump’s electoral victory.

“The president wants the aircraft sooner, so we’re collaborating with Elon and his team to identify how to expedite the aircraft’s schedule,” Ortberg stated in a CNBC interview in late January.

Security Clearance Revision

Musk has suggested that the new Air Force One designs have been excessively complicated, leading to production delays.

Musk and Boeing have both quietly advocated for relaxing the strict security clearance standards required for some personnel working on the project.

Presently, nearly all individuals associated with the project require a high-level security clearance known as Yankee White, which mandates extensive vetting, similar to military personnel that engage with the president or vice president, encompassing employees and contractors, including mechanics and electricians, regardless of their work on sensitive systems.

Relaxing security clearance would facilitate the manufacturing timeline, making it easier for Boeing to recruit personnel. However, it also poses potential national security threats, such as espionage from individuals masquerading as employees. Discussions are ongoing about applying this option selectively to employees engaged in less critical roles.

Moreover, Musk has raised concerns about the duration of the flight testing phase for the aircraft.

Several current and former Pentagon officials worry that the push from Trump and Musk for a swifter schedule could jeopardize the safety standards essential for a critical national security asset.

Frank Kendall, who recently stepped down as Air Force Secretary, remarked in an interview, “Safety requirements could be relaxed, allowing for more risk to be taken. However, it’s crucial to maintain fundamental command and control, as well as communication capabilities onboard the aircraft.”

Boeing’s Struggles

Trump’s frustrations with Boeing’s management of the Air Force One contract are not new; there have been numerous delays and issues since the company was initially awarded the job nearly a decade ago. Kendall shared that he was so frustrated with Boeing’s performance that he contemplated the possibility of canceling the contract.

When questioned about the legal feasibility of cancellation, Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman, confirmed, “Every contract includes an option for cancellation.”

Last year, the Pentagon engaged a new contractor, Sierra Nevada Corp., to modify 747 jets into doomsday aircraft, designed to ensure military operations can continue in the event of a nuclear conflict. This $13 billion deal highlights that an alternative contractor is already in place that could potentially take over the Air Force One conversion, according to a past Pentagon official involved with the project. Sierra Nevada also shares connections with Musk’s SpaceX, which has launched components designed by Sierra Nevada into orbit.

Andrew Hunter, who stepped down from his position as Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics, stated in an interview that he instructed program managers late last year to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration and the White House to identify methods for hastening the delivery of the planes, previously anticipated for 2028 or even 2029.

It was Trump who originally negotiated the agreement with Boeing, which contained numerous requirements for specialized security and communication technology, some of which his team is now considering scaling back.

Trump’s fixed-price contract also constrained the Air Force’s ability to swiftly adapt as challenges arose throughout the project.

Boeing is in the process of retrofitting two aircraft which were initially intended for a Russian client who went out of business, rather than conducting custom builds for the Air Force before the closure of the 747 production line last year. A custom initiative might have mitigated some delays stemming from rewiring and reconfiguring the jets, according to one executive involved in the project.

Trump has also insisted on retaining his desired red, white, and blue color scheme, despite engineers’ warnings that the dark blue paint would induce thermal issues, leading the Pentagon to revert to a lighter color palette.

Inside Boeing, the Air Force One project is viewed as a significant setback for a company already burdened with numerous failures. Boeing has faced six consecutive years of financial losses, along with disasters that claimed the lives of many passengers and a strike that worsened existing production delays.

The company has dealt with numerous public relations challenges concerning the Air Force One project, including incidents where security clearances lapsed for many employees and when empty tequila bottles were discovered in one of the planes under construction. The pandemic further hampered efforts to secure qualified personnel, compounded by a lawsuit after one of Boeing’s key suppliers lagged behind schedule.

Additionally, tiny structural cracks in the two 747s had to be addressed, further delaying the project even though the jets provided by Boeing had not been operated in commercial service. This flaw is commonly reported in the 747-8 model, according to the F.A.A.

An Unusual Visit

In December, Mr. Hunter and Mr. Kendall were notified that Musk intended to visit the Boeing facility in San Antonio, prompting their involvement in securing approval for his out-of-the-ordinary visit, as Musk was neither a federal government employee nor a Boeing staff member at that time.

“Such an event would not have occurred in any standard transition period,” Mr. Hunter remarked.

During this visit, Musk aimed to discover ways to expedite production, as mentioned by a former Pentagon official involved in the discussions.

“The notion was to potentially strip away a lot of the military features, simply providing the president with an aesthetically appealing aircraft equipped with commercial capabilities and perhaps a few essential military upgrades,” the former official elaborated.

However, a significant obstacle remains the requirements stipulated by Trump and the White House for the Boeing aircraft in 2018, according to Mr. Hunter.

“If you find the requirements unappealing, consider amending them,” he noted in his interview with The Times.

Trump’s recent inspection of a Boeing 747-8 at Palm Beach airport also seemed to serve as a subtle dig at Boeing’s failure to deliver a timely new aircraft.

“This exemplifies the project’s inability to produce a new Air Force One as promised,” remarked Cheung, the White House communications director, while Trump toured the decade-old jet.

The examined aircraft is operated by Global Jet, and after Trump’s inspection, it returned to Doha, Qatar, according to executive Aubry Perrin. He declined to disclose the current owner but confirmed that it is privately held and not available for charters.

There has been no clarification from the Trump administration regarding how the U.S. would acquire the Qatari jet or who would finance it. Typically, 747-8 aircraft fetch around $400 million, as reported by Corporate Jet Investor.

Converting the Qatari jet to function as Air Force One could still lead to extensive modifications needing several years, as indicated by two former Pentagon officials involved with the project, unless Trump decides to significantly reduce military specifications and communications features.