SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk speaks in front of Crew Dragon cleanroom at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California on October 10, 2019. Photo: Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Viasat has announced a petition against Tesla, filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking the commission to re-evaluate Starlink’s environmental habits.
The report, according to Space News, argues Starlink satellites pose environmental hazards both on Earth and in space.
In response to the filing, which was posted on Twitter, SpaceX head Elon Musk claimed that Viasat was pulling “sneaky moves” and was instead concerned at Starlink’s ability to make profits.
Responding to the original story, Musk wrote, “Starlink ‘poses a hazard’ to Viasat’s profits, more like it. Stop the sneaky moves, Charlie Ergen!”
In a follow-up tweet, Musk continued, “And Mark Dankberg. This action is wack, not dank!!”
Starlink “poses a hazard” to Viasat’s profits, more like it. Stop the sneaky moves, Charlie Ergen!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2020
Calling out Charlie Ergen, an EchoStar chairman which works closely with Viasat, and Mark Dankberg, Viasat’s founder and chairman, Musk claims that Viasat’s claims to the FCC are more about competing with Starlink’s profits than they are about the company as an environmental hazard.
In any case, Musk is no stranger to the courtroom. While it isn’t clear how the FCC’s environmental probe into Starlink will turn out, it is clear that Starlink’s beta testing has been going very well in the U.S. and Canada. And perhaps even a little too well for Viasat’s liking.
