Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX, likes to take advantage of the good PR stunt, remember him ridiculous Thinking of building a submarine to rescue that Thai boys’ soccer team? When Russia invaded Ukraine and destroyed critical infrastructure earlier this year, it looked like Musk was pulling the same shtick when he started talking about providing for the war-torn nation. spacexStarlink satellite Internet.
But then, something incredible happened. Musk actually provided fast, reliable communications services to the military and government of Ukraine. Despite recent reports outages and slowdowns, Ukrainian officials have been vocal about how helpful Starlink has been. For a time, it actually sounded musky did something good,
Well, now it looks like Musk’s biggest PR victory is coming to an end. According to a new CNN report, Musk’s SpaceX has informed the Pentagon that it is considering ending its funding for Starlink services in Ukraine unless the US government pays the company hundreds of millions of dollars a month. Doesn’t
In response to a tweet about the news, Musk tried to As for the decision, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andryj Melnyk, asked the billionaire to “shut the fuck up”. According to Musk’s tweet, he was “just following their recommendation.”
Musk is referring to a Twitter reply from Melnyk directed at the Tesla CEO’s “peace plan” tweet, which suggested that Ukraine was part of a deal between the two countries to end Russia’s war. Will give many concessions to
Melnyk tweeted to Musk at the time, “shut the fuck up is my very diplomatic reply @elonmusk.”
Earlier this week, Ian Bremer of Eurasia Group alleged that Musk had told him that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting his “peace plan”. Musk later denied having spoken to Putin on the subject.
But despite Musk’s comments about following Melnyk’s suggestion, SpaceX actually contacted the US government before Melnyk’s October 3 tweet. According to a CNN report, Musk’s company informed the Pentagon on September 8 of its plan to stop funding Starlink for Ukraine.
“We are not in a position to donate more terminals to Ukraine, or to fund existing terminals indefinitely,” reads a September 8 letter from Starlink’s senior director of government sales. The letter claims that SpaceX’s cost overruns were approaching $100 million. SpaceX was looking for $124 million to continue service to Ukraine for the rest of 2022. Musk himself Confirmed The $100 million mark in one tweet.
In Elon Musk’s world, it seems Twitter bots are always to blame
Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, Musk publicly offered Starlink satellite internet to Ukrainian authorities to make up for the loss of cell towers and broadband infrastructure. However, while Ukrainian officials were thanking Musk for his charity, reports broke in April that the US government was actually funding the physical Starlink terminals and a significant portion of their delivery.
SpaceX’s letter to the Pentagon now provides better insight into who is funding Starlink in Ukraine. According to the letter, about 85% of the 20,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine were funded by countries such as the US and third parties such as Poland. For SpaceX’s part, the company has covered about 70% of internet connectivity costs. SpaceX says the cost of the terminals ranges from $1,500 to $2,500. Additionally, Starlink’s highest level of service, which it offers to Ukraine, costs $4,500 per month.
Of course, this would be the first time Musk has asked the government for money. spacex got billions of dollars Years in government subsidies, so in a way the US was already paying for Starlink for Ukraine. Now, Kasturi is just asking for more.
