Topline
Elon Musk tweeted Saturday SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service will continue serving Ukraine even if the company doesn’t receive government subsidies, in a major reversal from a Friday statement where Musk claimed the company could not “fund the existing system indefinitely” without some U.S. funding.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, speaks at the Washington Convention Center on March 9, 2020 in … [+]
Key Facts
SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon last month warning it could not keep funding internet service to Ukraine without financial assistance from the U.S. government.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh responded to reports about the letter at a news conference Friday, suggesting the U.S. is not committed to a partnership with SpaceX to provide satellite internet service to Ukraine since “there are other entities that we can certainly partner with when it comes to providing Ukraine with what they need on the battlefield.”
Musk took a swipe at the federal government in his tweet, saying Starlink will continue granting internet access even though it “is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $.”
Big Number
$400 million. That’s how much SpaceX estimates it will cost the company to fund Starlink service to Ukraine for a full year, according to the letter, which CNN first obtained.
Key Background
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, SpaceX began positioning Starlink satellites to prioritize Ukraine’s connectivity. The company has reportedly sent at least 10,000 terminals to the country, which serve as satellite dishes that pick up internet access. The Ukrainian military has relied heavily on Starlink for transmitting information on the front lines, which became evident after a Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that widespread Starlink outages in recent weeks have caused “catastrophic” communication breakdowns for troops advancing on Russian-held territory in southern and eastern Ukraine. Starlink service reportedly became more reliable in Ukraine during the past few days.
Tangent
A Ukrainian diplomat advised Musk to “f—- off” earlier this month after the billionaire tweeted ideas for “peace” that many viewed as heavily favorable to Russia. Musk tweeted Friday Starlink leaving Ukraine would amount to “just following his recommendation.” Musk sent out the list after allegedly having a recent conversation about the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but both Musk and the Kremlin have denied a discussion took place.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk to be worth $207.7 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
Further Reading
Ukrainian forces report Starlink outages during push against Russia (Financial Times)
Musk Denies Speaking To Putin Before Proposing Russia-Friendly Ukraine Peace Deal (Forbes)
Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff
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