system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What stops private entities from pursuing a weapon of mass destruction project?

So we have a guy that uses his privately earned money to fund his own space project. It only makes me wonder what stops Elon Musk as a visionary from starting his own nuclear project, build a base somewhere in Alaska, buy uranium from Iran and then threaten people with his nukes if they don't start playing by his definition of nice. 
What prevents this sort of scenario and how likely are we to see it happen at some point in the future?
gpt
There are just a ridiculous amount of laws concerning the use of anything related to nuclear energy or weaponry. If theoretically he wanted to build unsanctioned private nuclear weaponry it would have to be completely secret. Which means he would have to somehow hide the base, personnel, materials, and paper /money trail from the federal government. It would be a monumental task, especially in an American state by an American company.