Elon Musk said he will continue to fund Starlink satellites in Ukraine “for free” after a recent standoff with the US Department of Defense over the cost of their deployment.
(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk said he will continue to fund Starlink satellites in Ukraine “for free” after a recent standoff with the US Department of Defense over the cost of their deployment.
The shift comes a day after Musk threatened to cut financial support for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, claiming that the operation had cost his company $80 million so far.
The Pentagon had responded by confirming it’s in talks with SpaceX, while adding that the US is looking at other options.
Read more: Musk Tweets Complicate US Diplomacy From Ukraine to Taiwan
“The hell with it,” Musk tweeted Saturday.
“Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.”
He followed up with a later tweet to a follower saying, “Even so, we should still do good deeds.”
Withdrawing StarLink terminals would deny Ukraine a key means of communication in the fight against Russia’s invasion.
As well as helping Ukraine’s forces on the ground, the terminals have supported infrastructure across the country.
Earlier Musk stated that the amount SpaceX was requesting to give Ukraine a “major battlefield advantage” is less than the cost of one new GPS satellite.
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