Photo: SpaceX
While SpaceX head Elon Musk was lauded throughout much of the Western world for his move to send Starlink internet and hardware to Ukraine, but China saw it a little bit differently.
Musk’s move to supply Ukraine with Starlink satellite kits has caused increasing pressure from Beijing’s national security and data hawks, according to the Financial Times.
Beijing is threatening access to the world’s largest consumer market for Tesla and Musk, with a recent rule banning Tesla’s vehicles from an annual leadership event in the Beidaihe coastal district for the next couple of months.
In China, Starlink’s internet is viewed as an important piece of the “U.S. space military-industrial complex,” according to Blaine Curcio Space Tech Research Firm.
DISH Urges FCC to Halt SpaceX’s Starlink on Moving Planes, Boats, RVs https://t.co/JtinP0Dmfv
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) June 14, 2022
Curcio also added that the move is causing “significant alarm in China,” where military planners for the country fear SpaceX will use thousands of Starlink satellites to conduct surveillance on the country.
Another key fear is that SpaceX could use Starlink to support Taiwan, a democratic country with contentious independence from China that Beijing still claims sovereignty over.
SpaceX’s Starlink currently has over 2,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, with around 500,000 users worldwide.
In Ukraine alone, Starlink has around 150,000 active daily users as of estimates shared in May.
Last year, China complained to the United Nations about Starlink satellites that nearly hit their space station twice.
With Tesla’s business in China doubling year-over-year, there’s a risk the Chinese government could clamp down on Elon Musk’s auto business, which the CEO said would likely take 25-30% of the company’s marketshare in the long term. Musk usually speaks positively about China when it comes to public relations, praising both other EV makers in the country and also workers at Gigafactory Shanghai.
