In a tweet posted on Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk hinted that his rocket business SpaceX would continue to support Ukraine’s satellite-based Starlink internet service. However, the irascible Tesla CEO’s tone and words also gave rise to the suspicion that he was merely being ironic.
Musk frequently uses humor and insults in his tweets, and he also occasionally veers off course. For example, a recent string of tweets implied that one of his businesses had started selling its own line of fragrances. If SpaceX has formed future plans for operation in Ukraine, it is unclear at this time.
Senior American officials acknowledged on Friday that Musk had formally requested that the Defense Department assume responsibility for supporting the service that Starlink offers in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the country’s resistance against Russia’s invasion in February, Starlink, which offers broadband internet connectivity utilizing more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites, has supplied vital battlefield communications for Ukrainian military troops.
The Ukraine government will continue to receive free funding from us despite Starlink continuing to lose money and other businesses receiving billions of taxpayer dollars, Musk tweeted on Saturday.
Early on Friday, Musk tweeted that Ukraine’s communication demands were costing SpaceX $20 million per month. Requests for comment from Tesla did not immediately receive a response.
Senior U.S. officials said they spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing a private subject that has not yet been made public. They said senior leaders have discussed and are considering the Starlink funding issue in meetings. There haven’t been any choices made.
