““Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.””
That was SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explaining that the company cannot fund Starlink services for people in Ukraine in perpetuity because it’s too expensive.
In the aftermath of the Russian military mobilization of Ukraine, Musk donated Starlink’s internet terminals, the satellite-powered internet service operated by SpaceX, in part to help keep Ukraine’s military online during the conflict. But now Musk says the company cannot fund the system “indefinitely,” claiming the total costs for the operation for Ukraine is costing the company roughly $20 million per month.
Musk addressed the ongoing Starlink service in Ukraine in a series of tweets shared early Friday morning,
The Tesla
TSLA,
CEO and potential future Twitter
TWTR,
executive has weighed in on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on several occasions since the original military action by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Oct. 3, Musk put out a controversial poll on Twitter, insinuating that Ukraine could declare neutrality and relinquish any claim to the Crimean Peninsula (annexed unlawfully by Russia in 2014). The outgoing Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, not surprisingly, didn’t like that idea. And Musk referenced the ambassador’s strongly-worded comments in a tweet.
This all comes as a CNN reported that Musk recently informed the Pentagon that his company cannot fund Starlink services in Ukraine much longer.
CNN also reported that Musk’s SpaceX recently asked the Pentagon to fund Ukraine’s government use of Starlink, which SpaceX says could cost about $400 million over the next year.
The U.S. government has already spent millions to send Starlink terminals to Ukraine, contrary to SpaceX claims, according to the Washington Post.
Representatives for SpaceX and Musk didn’t immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment on this story.
A possible Starlink service disruption in Ukraine comes as Musk’s ongoing saga with Twitter rages on.
Musk informed Twitter on Oct. 3 that he intended to move forward with his acquisition of the company for $54.20 a share — the two sides have until Oct. 28 to close the deal or else a trial will ensue.
