Elon Musk reaffirms free Starlink support in Ukraine
After backlash surrounding the possible withdrawal of free Starlink internet service in Ukraine, Elon Musk has reaffirmed that it will stay free for now.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine carries on, one of the more alarming stories to come out in previous weeks was that free Starlink service being supplied to Ukraine may be cut off. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company was allegedly having issues continuing to foot the bill for the service and claimed continual supply of free service and equipment to Ukraine was unsustainable. However, following backlash over the possible discontinuation of free service, Musk has reaffirmed that Starlink will continue to support Ukraine with free service for now.
Elon Musk shared his reaffirmation on the matter of free Starlink service in Ukraine via his personal Twitter. SpaceX was met with backlash this last week when reports came out that the company warned it may stop free Starlink service in Ukraine unless it had assistance with the costs. Apparently, SpaceX sent an email to the Pentagon to ask the US military for assistance on the matter. That said, when it came out that free Starlink service in Ukraine could end soon, SpaceX caught flak from various corners of social media. This prompted Elon Musk to reverse the company’s decision on the matter.
Source: Twitter
Initially, Musk shared concerns that as a start-up communications service, he was concerned about SpaceX bankrupting itself on the charitable contributions of Starlink equipment and service in Ukraine. Ultimately, Musk’s goal is for Starlink to “not go bankrupt” as many companies offering similar service have in the past. Nonetheless, Musk seems to have reversed his stance under pressure on social media.
“The hell with it,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “Even though Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of taxpayer dollars, we’ll just keep funding the Ukraine government for free.”
It seems contentious to say the least and it wouldn’t be unlike Musk to reverse his decision on the fly. However, for the time being, it looks like SpaceX isn’t cutting off free Starlink service anytime soon. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, Elon Musk reaffirms free Starlink support in Ukraine
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who is more capable at PR than the smartest man alive though??
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Eh, I don't have any issue with that message whatsoever.
“Putin plays the egos of big men, gives them a sense that they can play a role. But in reality, they’re just direct transmitters of messages from Vladimir Putin,” Hill says.
We've seen him do that repeatedly. Musk may have been talking to some agent rather than Putin directly, but his word choice - fucking Khrushchev's Mistake?! - didn't come from someone from the west.-
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According to the SpaceX figures shared with the Pentagon, about 85% of the 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were paid – or partially paid – for by countries like the US and Poland or other entities. Those entities also paid for about 30% of the internet connectivity, which SpaceX says costs $4,500 each month per unit for the most advanced service. (Over the weekend, Musk tweeted there are around 25,000 terminals in Ukraine.)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/politics/elon-musk-spacex-starlink-ukraine/index.html
'free' service from SpaceX -
Starlink has been a good tool for WOIP (War Over IP)
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