Months ago, when the war started, Elon Musk through SpaceX was regarded as a hero for donating Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine's military, communication systems seen as vital for Ukraine as Russia attacked their infrastructure. Well, now, like any good capitalist, he's tired of footing the bill and his largesse seems to be at an end.
Source: CNBC
Elon Musk said Friday that SpaceX cannot continue fund Starlink terminals in Ukraine “indefinitely,” after a report suggested his space exploration company had asked the Pentagon to cover the costs.
SpaceX’s donated Starlink internet terminals have been crucial in keeping Ukraine’s military online during the war against Russia, even as communication infrastructure gets destroyed.
Last week, Musk tweeted that the operation has cost SpaceX $80 million so far, and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.
On Friday, the billionaire, who is also CEO of Tesla, said SpaceX cannot fund the existing system “indefinitely” and send several thousand more terminals that have high data usage.
It follows a CNN report that SpaceX told the U.S. government it could no longer fund Starlink services in Ukraine. The report cited documents obtained from the Pentagon and said SpaceX is asking the U.S. government pay for the terminals instead.
The letter from SpaceX to the Pentagon claimed that Ukraine’s use of Starlink could cost close to $400 million over the next 12 months, according to the CNN report.
SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022
It hasn't been the best of weeks for Musk's relationship with Ukraine. Just days ago a Ukrainian ambassador told Musk to "Fuck off" after he repeated some Russian propaganda with his so-called peace proposal.
Musk's tweet suggests the real reason for the pullout is that he is petty and vindictive.
