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ABASHED: Elon Musk backtracks on cutting funding Ukraine’s Starlink internet service

ABASHED: Elon Musk backtracks on cutting funding Ukraine’s Starlink internet service

ABASHED: Elon Musk backtracks on cutting funding Ukraine's Spacelink internet service

Tesla CEO Elon Musk just made an embarrassing about-face. The world’s richest man walked back his previous threat to suspend funding for Ukraine’s use of his Starlink internet service after being subject to an astonishing amount of public backlash. Musk had previously said he could not afford to continue paying for the satellite service as he himself initially promised to do.

Musk sent a letter to the Pentagon last month, asking the agency to pick up the tab for the roughly 20,000 satellite terminals made by Musk’s company SpaceX.

“‘We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,’ SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon in the September letter,” according to CNN.

After making a public showing of support for Ukraine – prior to offering several regions as a tribute to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Twitter – Musk announced he was going back on his generous “donation,” shortly after it was leaked that the South African billionaire conducted secret talks with Putin prior to playing social media diplomat with a widely criticized “solution” to end the oligarch’s military assault on its sovereign neighbor.

Musk changed his mind just a day later.

Amid condemnation for his decision to stop funding the Ukrainian military’s and citizens’ technological lifeline, Musk tried to shift blame to Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, who told the internet troll where he could go with his suggestion. Musk said, “We’re just following his recommendation.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1580819437824839681?s=20&t=rkFvh2Lp99XAlR2F9dMN8w

According to Mashable, SpaceX actually contacted the U.S. government well before Melnyk’s Oct. 3 tweet. According to the CNN report, Musk’s company informed the Pentagon of its plan to stop funding Starlink for Ukraine on Sept. 8.

When it comes to Elon Musk, the world has seen that he isn’t one to say what he means — or mean what he says – nor is he known to be a man of his word.

Flip-flopping is the name of the game when it comes to the less-than-loyal Tesla CEO – and for Musk, it’s all just a game…except for those being slaughtered and displaced by a megalomaniacal world leader.

Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick

Original reporting by  CNN.

Ty Ross
News journalist for Occupy Democrats.

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