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SpaceX asks Pentagon to fund Starlink in Ukraine; Musk reverses a day later
…fund the existing system indefinitely
What he said or did
After CNN reported a SpaceX letter asking the Pentagon to take over Starlink costs in Ukraine, Musk wrote that SpaceX could not fund the existing system indefinitely
and that Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.
On 15 October he wrote: The hell with it … we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.
Background
According to CNN's reporting, SpaceX projected costs of more than $120 million for the rest of 2022 and almost $400 million over the next 12 months. Musk linked the request to diplomat Andrij Melnyk's reply to his peace-plan poll, writing We're just following his recommendation.
Official response
The US military confirmed it was communicating with SpaceX about funding for the Starlink network (Al Jazeera).
What happened next
On 1 June 2023 the Pentagon confirmed it had contracted with SpaceX for Starlink satellite services for Ukraine, without disclosing the cost (Defense News).
Sources
- Fortune14 Oct 2022
- Al Jazeera15 Oct 2022
- CNBC15 Oct 2022
- Defense News1 Jun 2023
This entry records what was publicly said or done, as reported by the sources above. Quotes are attributed to the person who made them.
