Musk to Seek Starlink Donations after Withdrawing Request for Ukraine Funding
upstart writes:
SpaceX "will add a donate option to Starlink" for places in need:
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about funding Starlink in Ukraine, though SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a tweet yesterday that "SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding."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.
[...] 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.
[...] 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.
[...] 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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