On Saturday morning, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter his company would continue to fund Starlink satellite in Ukraine, for free.
“The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine [government] for free.”
The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2022
The other day, sources leaked to CNN letters from SpaceX to the Pentagon, asking the latter to take over paying for Starlink in Ukraine.
Musk revealed SpaceX is burning through $20 million per month to fund Starlink in Ukraine. Currently, there are about 25,000 Starlink dishes in the country. On top of the financial bill, Musk also said earlier this week, “in addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telcos for access to Internet via gateways. We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder.”
On Friday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said, “Let’s be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies. 🇺🇦 will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.”
Let's be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies. 🇺🇦 will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) October 14, 2022
On Saturday evening, Musk replied to his earlier tweet about paying for Starlink in Ukraine with, “The comments in this thread are a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream.”
The comments in this thread are a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2022
For now, Ukraine has internet for its government, military and citizens with access, thanks to SpaceX and Elon Musk.
