SpaceX chairman Elon Musk the company said Sunday would not disable Starlink satellite internet service for the country even if the US Department of Defense refused to pay the costs.
What happened: Musk, who also directs Tesla Inc TSLAtweeted on Sunday that he informed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov his commitment to keeping the service up and running even before the Pentagon “came back with an answer.”
Before the Department of Defense even came back with an answer, I said so @FedorovMykhailo that SpaceX would not shut down Starlink even if the DoD refused to provide the funding
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 24, 2022
Last week, Musk changed his stance on providing Starlink to Ukraine, saying SpaceX will continue to offer the service, although it is “losing money” in the process as the country is embroiled in a war against the Russian president’s invading forces Wladimir Putin.
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Why it matters: While the Pentagon had paid no money – others nations, organizations and individuals paid for Ukraine to use Starlink, Musk said last Tuesday. The contractor’s comments came in response to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Ryder previously said the department was in “talks with SpaceX as well as other companies” about bringing internet to Ukraine. It should be noted that Musk had already retired his Application for funding by DoD.
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