Elon Musk, "SpaceX Can’t Pay for Starlink in Ukraine Anymore"

Elon Musk's SpaceX has told the Pentagon that it can no longer subsidize the use of its satellite-backed internet service Starlink by Ukraine, CNN reported.

The broadcaster cited a series of documents sent to the Defense Department last month, when Ukrainian forces began reporting Starlink service disruptions in areas they had retaken from Russia. According to various reports, these disruptions have greatly hampered the Ukrainian advance. The news underscores the cost of a high-profile gesture of support Musk made at the start of the war in February and sheds light on Musk's recent and controversial efforts to broker peace there by pressuring it to cede territory. Musk said last week that SpaceX would spend $100 million to subsidize the use of Starlink by the end of the year. Musk's initiative sparked outrage in Ukraine, with one of the country's ambassadors telling Musk to "get out" on Twitter. "We're just following his advice," Musk responded via the microblogging site on Friday. Musk's financial difficulties are compounding after he bowed to legal pressure from Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) to complete his purchase of the social media company for $44 billion, a deal that was made when the overall stock market - and the shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) that Musk would have to sell to finance the acquisition - were well above their current level. CNN quoted SpaceX's director of government sales as saying in a September letter to the Pentagon that "we are not in a position to donate more terminals to Ukraine or fund existing terminals indefinitely." The letter also asks the Pentagon to assume funding for Ukraine's government and military use of Starlink, which could cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and up to $400 million over the next 12 months, CNN reported. Documents cited by CNN showed that Ukraine's top general, Valerii Zaluzhniy, requested 8,000 more Starlink terminals in July. According to CNN, more than 80% of the Starlink terminals Ukraine has used in recent months have been funded by external parties, mainly the Polish government and crowdfunding operations. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!