Returning to Twitter on Saturday, Musk supplied no replace about these talks with the Defense Department — and neither the tech mogul nor the federal government responded to requests for remark. But Musk, the world’s richest man, newly struck an open if sarcastic notice about sustaining Starlink funding anyway.
“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 free,” he tweeted.
When a Silicon Valley investor later responded by citing the aphorism that “no good deed goes unpunished,” Musk tweeted in reply: “Even so, we should still do good deeds.”
The trade marked the newest twist in a complicated geopolitical saga that has performed out over Twitter, the very firm that Musk as soon as once more hopes to purchase. For Ukraine, the stakes are staggeringly excessive: The satellite tv for pc service provided by Starlink is now a main mode of on-line communication in the nation, a consequence of Russia’s sustained assault on Ukraine’s on-line infrastructure. A satellite tv for pc cutoff might cripple Ukraine’s navy and hand a serious benefit to the Kremlin.
Musk, for his half, has more and more waded into the battle in public methods. Earlier this month, the billionaire put ahead what he described as a peace plan that critics noticed as closely favorable to Russia, drawing the ire of Ukrainian political leaders, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Andrij Melnyk, the nation’s ambassador to Germany, later responded to Musk’s proposal in extra specific phrases: “F— off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” he tweeted.
With tensions excessive, Musk then tweeted Friday his issues concerning the worth of offering Starlink service. He beforehand said that it had value SpaceX about $80 million to date to beam satellite tv for pc web to the war-torn nation, an quantity that would rise to $100 million by the tip of the yr as the corporate expands its footprint and secures its infrastructure in opposition to additional Russian incursions.
In doing so, Musk additionally snapped again — once more, over social media — at Melnyk: “We’re just following his recommendation,” he tweeted.
Behind the scenes, Defense Department officers mentioned they have been in energetic talks with Musk
about sustaining the system. Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, additionally informed reporters that the U.S. authorities had different choices in the occasion of a disruption.
The Biden administration has performed an unclear position in orchestrating the association, as paperwork previously obtained by The Washington Post recommend one other a part of the federal government — the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID — could have helped pay for a few of the Starlink terminals deployed in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, in the meantime, an adviser to Zelensky mentioned Friday that Starlink had “helped us survive the most critical moments of war.” The aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, added Ukraine would “find a solution to keep Starlink working,” although the federal government expects Starlink “will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.”
Isabelle Khurshudyan, Kostiantyn Khudov, Dan Lamothe and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.
