The Pentagon has reportedly held talks with SpaceX about funding Starlink in Ukraine, though SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a tweet yesterday that "SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding." Musk also said he'll seek Starlink donations for places in need.
"The Pentagon and SpaceX have held discussions about funding for the company's Starlink Internet service in Ukraine, a senior military official said Monday, but Elon Musk indicated that SpaceX is no longer seeking that support," The Wall Street Journal wrote. There's still a chance the Pentagon could pay for Starlink from a Ukraine-specific fund that is aiding the country's defense against Russia's invasion, according to a Politico report.
Musk wrote in another tweet that "25,300 terminals were sent to Ukraine, but, at present, only 10,630 are paying for service." He also wrote that SpaceX "will add a donate option to Starlink" for those who "want to donate Starlinks to places in need."
That could include Ukraine and other countries. Musk's tweet about adding a donation option came in response to Ham Serunjogi, co-founder and CEO of a company that runs a service for sending and receiving money in Africa. "I'd be glad to commit $$ to donate Starlink to schools & hospitals in Uganda," Serunjogi wrote.
SpaceX previously sent a letter asking the Pentagon to fund the Ukraine government and military's use of Starlink broadband, saying that the company can't afford to donate more user terminals or pay for operations indefinitely. The letter was sent in September but became public last week in a CNN report.
Musk defended the request on Friday, writing that "SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely and send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable." The Ukraine operation has cost SpaceX $80 million, and costs will exceed $100 million by the end of this year, according to Musk.
“Little confidence that Musk can be trusted”
Musk seemed to backtrack on Saturday, albeit grudgingly. "The hell with it... even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," he wrote.
Despite that Musk tweet, "a US official involved in the discussions said that there is little confidence that Musk can be trusted, forcing DoD to identify a way to keep Starlink or a suitable backup running in Ukraine for the foreseeable future," according to the Politico article yesterday. The article was published shortly before Musk's additional tweet saying that "SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding."
"The Pentagon is considering paying for the Starlink satellite network—which has been a lifeline for Ukraine—from a fund that has been used to supply weapons and equipment over the long term, according to two US officials who are involved in the deliberations," Politico wrote. That fund is the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which "has been used to acquire a range of weapons and services for the Ukraine war effort," the article said.
EU officials are also "discussing whether to cover the subscription cost of the Starlink terminals Elon Musk donated to Ukraine," the Financial Times wrote yesterday.
The Pentagon said last week that it's considering other satellite options, too. "There are certainly other Satcom capabilities that exist out there," Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said, according to the Financial Times. "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."
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