Elon Musk said on Friday that his company SpaceX will not be able to finance the Starlink satellite internet network over Ukraine indefinitely, amid reports that he had asked the US military to cover the costs.
The move comes as Musk has been embroiled in public spats with Ukrainian leaders, angry over his controversial proposals to de-escalate the conflict, which included recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low-Earth orbit, has been vital to Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, and SpaceX has donated some 25,000 ground terminals, according to an updated figure provided by Musk last week.
In a series of tweets, the world’s richest man appeared to confirm a CNN report that he had written to the Pentagon warning that his financial contributions would come to an end, and that they would have to foot the bill.
“SpaceX isn’t asking to recoup past expenses, but it also can’t indefinitely fund the existing system *and* ship several thousand more terminals that have up to 100 times the data usage of typical homes,” he tweeted.
Musk said the operation has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is expected to exceed $100 million by the end of the year.
But CNN said that SpaceX figures shared with the Pentagon show that about 85 percent of the first 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were paid for at least in part by countries such as the United States, Poland or other entities.
They also paid about 30 percent for Internet connectivity.
Following your recommendation
In late-night replies on Twitter on Friday, Musk expanded on the logistics of the operation.
“In addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain and replace satellites and ground stations, and pay telcos for Internet access through gateways,” he said.
“We also have to defend against cyber-attacks and interference, which are getting more and more difficult. The expense is close to 20 million dollars a month.”
Musk has recently clashed with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, after suggesting a peace deal that would involve re-holding controversial referendums in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Musk’s proposals were welcomed by Russia.
In response, kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, spoke out and told Musk to “fuck it.”
“We are just following your recommendation,” Musk tweeted on Friday, along with the shrug emoji.
According to CNN, SpaceX documents sent to the Pentagon said that Ukraine had ordered 8,000 more Starlink terminals in July.
For its part, the Financial Times has reported that Starlink outages affected Ukrainian forces on the front lines, hampering their ability to liberate Russian-held areas in the east of the country, but the situation subsequently improved.
Information of: The Times of Israel
photo credits: AP
