Elon Musk Says SpaceX Can No Longer Foot The Bill For Starlink In Ukraine

The costs of maintaining Starlink infrastructure don’t simply come down to beaming internet from the satellites floating in the low-Earth orbit. As Musk explained in one of his tweets, data usage by civilians as well as military personnel in Ukraine is “up to 100X greater than typical households.” Explaining the logic behind high expenses that are inching close to $20 million per month, Musk explained in another tweet that aside from just providing internet services, SpaceX “also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder.” 

We’re just following his recommendation ????‍♂️

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022

Musk’s response has drawn mixed reactions, with some classifying the demand for financial assistance from the U.S. government as a reasonable request, while others targeted the billionaire’s savior attitude merely months after he was hailed as a hero for Ukraine. As funding emerges as a tangible issue, Reuters reports that the Ukrainian President is seeking “a solution to keep the Starlink internet service working in Ukraine.”

The world’s richest man, who claims to be in touch with high-ranking Ukrainian officials, has reportedly assured them Starlink will continue to stay operational in the country. The funding revelations surfaced online days after Musk asked a series of questions on Twitter regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict and received widespread criticism for it.