The Pentagon said on Friday that it was in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink mobile internet system to keep connectivity for Ukrainian forces, after the billionaire Tesla chief complained he was burning through nearly $20mn a month funding the service.
News of the negotiations followed a report by CNN that Musk’s private space company, SpaceX, had written to the defence department last week asking for financial support from the US to fend off the financial strains on its satellite network.
“I can confirm that the department has been in communication with SpaceX regarding Starlink,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said. “We’re working with our partners and allies trying to figure out what’s best.”
“There are certainly other Satcom capabilities that exist out there,” she added. “There’s not just SpaceX, there are other entities that we can certainly partner with when it comes to providing Ukraine with what they need on the battlefield.”
The Tesla and SpaceX boss appeared to confirm the request for cash, tweeting it was “insanely difficult” for a low-earth-orbit “communications constellation to avoid bankruptcy — that was the fate of every company that tried this before”.
Musk won widespread acclaim earlier this year after intervening to bring internet service to Ukraine, but the move has become politically explosive in the past week after the world’s richest man called for a negotiated settlement to end the war. His proposal, which included allowing Russia to keep Crimea, was denounced by Ukraine’s leaders.
The Financial Times also revealed that some Starlink terminals used by Ukraine’s military had stopped working in areas recently liberated from Russian occupation, raising questions about whether Starlink was blocking the service to some parts of the country.
The news that SpaceX was seeking financial support from Washington provided fresh ammunition to Musk’s critics on Twitter who have opposed his position on Ukraine.
However, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, defended Musk. “Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies,” he said on Twitter. “Ukraine will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.”
Musk said that his company was spending “approaching $20mn a month” to “create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telcos for access to internet via gateways. We’ve also had to defend against cyber attacks & jamming, which are getting harder.”
In an apparent confirmation of the leaked request for Pentagon help, Musk tweeted: “Strange that nothing was leaked about our competitors in space launch & communications, Lockheed & Boeing, who get over $60B,” adding that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the official who leaked the letter ended up working at one of the companies.
In response to a tweet quoting a Ukrainian diplomat who told Musk last week to “fuck off” following his proposed peace settlement, the US-based entrepreneur said: “We’re just following his recommendation.”
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