Elon Musk announced he has withdrawn a request that his Starlink satellite Internet system’s Ukrainian placement, which he underwrote shortly after the Russia-Ukraine War’s start, receive Pentagon financing in part or whole. Musk’s response came following a Politico story on October 17th that such considerations were taking place. From the Politico article:
This is in response to CNN’s report last month that SpaceX warned the Pentagon it would not be able to finance satellite terminals and communications services. These services have already cost SpaceX more than $80million, and it could spend hundreds of millions more over the next year.
Musk announced the news via Twitter.
SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2022
This news comes amid tensions between Musk and Ukraine. On October 14th, RedState’s Brandon Morse pointed this out:
The leaders of Ukraine saw this poll as a problem. Allies of NATO view Crimea and Ukraine’s inclusion into NATO as a threat. They have been pursuing this goal since World War II.
Andrij Melnyk served as Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany. He didn’t like Musk and responded to the survey.
Melnyk tweeted: “F*** off is the very diplomatic response that I have to you Elon Musk. ”
Fast forward to Friday and Musk declared Starlink too expensive to give away free. Musk is now asking for money from the Pentagon. Jason Jay Smart, a Belarus Post journalist, tweeted about Musk’s decision that the U.S. government would pay the bill. Musk replied.
Musk tweeted: “We’re following your recommendation. ”
Any U.S. government contemplating taking over Starlink’s financing is rational, even though billions of dollars have been spent in Ukraine. It would not be at the discretion of a billionaire. Streiff shared the details of how much money the United States gave Ukraine during the war, and how the government’s oversight was woefully inadequate.
It is not about whether Musk has the financial resources to finance Starlink in Ukraine. It is unclear whether they like Musk’s free-wheeling and free-thinking style.
Elon Musk marched to the beat of his own drum. Musk has always marched to the beat of his own drummer.
