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 would proceed to fund Starlink satellite web terminals for the Ukrainian government because it battles invading Russian forces.
“The hell with it,” the billionaire tweeted, “regardless that Starlink continues to be losing money & other firms are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt without cost.”
It was not immediately clear whether Musk, who can be the CEO of Tesla, was being sarcastic. In response to a tweet in regards to the move, Musk said, “we must always still do good deeds.” Responding to a different tweet saying that Musk had already paid taxes which can be funding Ukraine’s defense, he said, “Fate loves irony.”
The tweets follow an announcement from Musk on Friday wherein he said that SpaceX cannot proceed fund Starlink terminals in Ukraine “indefinitely,” after a report suggested his space company had asked the Pentagon to cover the prices.
Musk didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
In a letter from SpaceX to the Pentagon, the corporate said that using Starlink in Ukraine could cost near $400 million over the following 12 months, in line with a report by CNN. SpaceX has signed several contracts with the U.S. government.
SpaceX’s donated Starlink web terminals have been crucial in keeping Ukraine’s military online in the course of the war against Russia, at the same time as communication infrastructure gets destroyed. Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Musk drew criticism from Ukrainian officials earlier this month when he posted a Twitter poll gauging support for what he claimed was a possible consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war.
He appeared to substantiate that SpaceX was planning to go away Ukraine in some capability Friday, replying to a Twitter post that referenced the Ukrainian ambassador telling Musk to “f— off.”
“We’re just following his suggestion,” Musk said.
The SpaceX founder can be in the course of a $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter, which he had tried to get out of. A judge ruled that he has until Oct. 28 to shut the acquisition if he hopes to avoid a trial.
