A smartphone with the Starlink logo displayed on the screen.
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Elon Musk said in a tweet Saturday that his company SpaceX will continue to fund Starlink satellite internet terminals to the Ukrainian government as it battles against invading Russian forces.
“Damn it,” the billionaire tweeted, “although Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of dollars in taxes, we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free.”
It is still unclear whether Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, was mocked. Responding to a tweet about the move, Musk said, “we should still do good deeds.” Responding to another tweet stating that Musk paid taxes that fund Ukraine’s defense, he say“The irony of love’s fate.”
The following tweets a statement from Musk on Friday, in which he said that SpaceX cannot continue funding Starlink terminals in Ukraine “indefinitely,” after a report suggested that his space company had asked the Pentagon to payment costs.
Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a letter from SpaceX to the Pentagon, the company said that using Starlink in Ukraine could cost nearly $400 million over the next 12 months, according to a CNN report. SpaceX signed some contract with The U.S. government.
Starlink Internet-connected terminals funded by SpaceX have played a vital role in keeping the Ukrainian military online during the war against Russia, even as communication infrastructure was destroyed. Russia started invading Ukraine in February.
Earlier this month, Musk drew criticism from Ukrainian officials when he posted a Twitter poll assessing support for what he thinks could be the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war.
He appeared to confirm that SpaceX is planning to leave Ukraine in some capacity on Friday, responding to a Twitter post referring to The Ukrainian ambassador told Musk to “turn it off.”
“We just followed his suggestion,” Musk said.
The founder of SpaceX is also in the middle $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, which he was trying to get out of. A judge has ruled he has until October 28 to close the acquisition if he hopes to avoid a trial.
