Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
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.
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.