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 will continue to provide the Ukrainian government with Starlink satellite internet terminals as it battles invading Russian troops.
“Go to hell,” the billionaire tweeted. “While Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of taxpayer dollars, we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free.”
It’s unclear if Musk will also serve as CEO Tesla, very ironic. “We should still do good things,” Musk said in response to a tweet about the move. In response to another tweet saying Musk had already paid taxes to fund Ukraine’s defense, He says“Fate loves irony.”
The tweets follow a statement from Musk on Friday, in which he said SpaceX cannot continue funding the Starlink terminal in Ukraine “indefinitely” after reports that his space company had asked the Pentagon Pay the fee.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a letter to the Pentagon, SpaceX said the cost of using Starlink in Ukraine could approach $400 million over the next 12 months, according to CNN. SpaceX has signed several contracts with the U.S. government.
Starlink internet terminals donated by SpaceX are critical to keeping Ukrainian troops online during the war with Russia, even as communications infrastructure is disrupted. Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Musk has drawn criticism from Ukrainian officials when he tweeted a poll earlier this month to gauge support for what he claimed was a possible outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war.
He appeared to confirm that SpaceX was planning to leave Ukraine in some capacity on Friday, replying to a Twitter post that mentioned the Ukrainian ambassador telling Musk to “go away.”
“We just followed his advice,” Musk says.
The SpaceX founder is also buying Twitter for $44 billion, a deal he tried to pull out of. The judge ruled he had until October. If he hopes to avoid trial, the acquisition will be completed on the 28th.