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Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that while no money for the Starlink service has been paid by the U.S. Department of Defense, other nations, organizations and individuals have fronted the costs for the satellite internet terminals.
What Happened: Musk’s comments came on Twitter in response to YouTuber Alex Voigt who pointed to a recent statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Musk told his Twitter following with a “sigh” that SpaceX, a company that he heads and which provided the terminals, is losing $20 million a month due to “unpaid service & costs related to enhanced security measures for cyberwar defense, but we’ll keep doing it.”
No money from DoD, but several other countries, orgs & individuals are paying for ~11k/25k terminals (thanks!).
SpaceX is losing ~$20M/month due to unpaid service & costs related to enhanced security measures for cyberwar defense, but we’ll keep doing it (sigh).
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2022
See Also: How To Invest In Space Startups
Why It Matters: Ryder said at a Tuesday press meet that SpaceX has not been paid any money by the DoD at the current stage.
“When it comes to the broader issue of providing satellite communication to Ukraine, we are in discussions with SpaceX, as well as other companies, to look at how best to provide that service,” he said.
It was reported earlier that Musk had already withdrawn his request for funding to the DoD after saying earlier that his space exploration company can no longer provide satellite internet to Ukraine for free.
SpaceX began providing Starlink terminals to Ukraine in February, shortly after the war with Russia started.
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Illustration by KLYONA on Shutterstock
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Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.