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| ‘The hell with it’: Musk decides to keep funding Starlink for Ukraine |
| 2022-10-16 |
| [IsraelTimes] SpaceX CEO reverses course after saying on Friday he could not continue funding program; he has become embroiled in public spat with Kyiv over suggestion to compromise with Russia. Elon Musk on Saturday announced that his company would continue to pay for Starlink satellite internet in war-torn Ukraine, a day after suggesting he cannot keep funding the project. "The hell with it," the world’s richest man wrote on Twitter. "Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free." Musk had said on Friday that SpaceX would not be able to pay for Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely. And the US military confirmed it was communicating with the billionaire’s company about funding for the key network. The discussions come as Musk has been embroiled in public spats with Ukrainian leaders who were angered by his controversial proposals for de-escalating the conflict, which included acknowledging Russian illusory sovereignty over Crimea. Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, has been vital to Ukraine’s communications as it fights against Russia’s invasion. SpaceX has donated some 25,000 ground terminals to Ukraine, according to an updated figure given by Musk last week. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #9 Ukrainian thugs put Musk on their “Kill List” — the one that includes 327 children and that features pictures of corpses, supposedly of their victims. Then Musk joked that he would fund Starlink again. “It might be a joke, but the media is reporting on it as if it isn’t. “Last week, Elon said he would stop giving them free access to this satellite internet service he owns because they were attacking and insulting him. The tweet saying he’ll continue to pay came after his tweets discovering that he was put on a kill list. Therefore, it must surely be a joke….” |
| Posted by: Slats Splat8067 2022-10-16 20:47 |
| #8 Musk is probably right behind Warren Buffett in the Crony Capitalist Department. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2022-10-16 12:08 |
| #7 Musk’s entire (post-PayPal) fortune is built upon government subsidies. He’s as Swampy as they come |
| Posted by: Palermo 2022-10-16 11:39 |
| #6 I suspect there were some back-channel talks between Musk and whomever that we are not privy too. And the Biden Gubbamint interference in SpaceX markedly diminishes. Like that, for example. We know the Feds have been annoying SpaceX with environmental lawfare - various environmental inspections, permits and such. There are also rumors the Russians have threatened the Starlink satellite constellation, which may have led to the original decision. Or maybe it was the expense or the bad optics of a private individual/company funding a war in a foreign country. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2022-10-16 09:31 |
| #5 Now Russian electronic jammers. |
| Posted by: Dale 2022-10-16 08:52 |
| #4 Two Russian military satellites recently launched. The race is on and Elon has to have military support here because he can't do it all alone. We have people here who might enlighten us here. This is a big deal. I however see this administration is completely inept. Biden destroys all he touches. Even our strategic oil reserve is down to twenty days. |
| Posted by: Dale 2022-10-16 08:17 |
| #3 And the Biden Gubbamint interference in SpaceX markedly diminishes. Unexpectedly |
| Posted by: Frank G 2022-10-16 07:34 |
| #2 Elon Musk changes tune, says SpaceX will 'keep funding Ukraine' after asking for government support |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-10-16 04:00 |
| #1 Musk is just full of shit. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2022-10-16 02:43 |