[The Epoch Times, October 22, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Katabella Roberts / Takasugi compilation) Reports say that the Biden administration is considering an investigation into billionaire Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and his SpaceX company. Starlink satellite network projects to determine whether they should be subject to national security scrutiny. Musk responded.
Late Thursday (October 20), Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in response to a post by American mixed martial artist Nik Lentz.
“It’s crazy if the government is going to stop Elon from overpaying for Twitter,” Lentz wrote on Twitter. Musk tweeted: “100% agree.” A laughing emoji was added next to it.
Musk’s response came shortly after Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration was considering an investigation into his business dealings, citing concerns about his “plan to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.” “.
Musk confirmed earlier this month that he plans to buy social media platform Twitter for $44 billion. He is currently in legal battles with Twitter executives over issues including the number of fake accounts on the platform.
Musk’s recent post about whether to stop helping Ukraine get Starlink satellite internet service for free has also drawn attention, the report said.
He did not specifically mention the Bloomberg report in his reply to Lentz’s tweet.
However, Musk recently tweeted that it is impossible for SpaceX to continue funding Ukraine’s Starlink satellite network service for free “indefinitely.”
Musk said in the post: “SpaceX is not claiming to recoup past (providing terminal receivers and internet service) costs, but it also cannot fund existing systems indefinitely, and can no longer give away thousands of terminals for free. Because these The Internet data usage of terminals is 100 times larger than that of ordinary households. Such a requirement is unreasonable.”
Musk’s comments came after CNN reported that SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon asking it to take over funding for the Ukrainian government and military to use Starlink’s satellite internet. The Pentagon later confirmed that it had not paid SpaceX any fees to provide Starlink network services to Ukraine.
SpaceX will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free
Later, Musk posted that SpaceX will continue to provide Starlink services to Ukraine for free, although doing so would be a loss for the company.
Musk wrote: “Go to hell…While Starlink is still losing money and other companies are being funded by billions of dollars in taxpayer money, we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Department told Bloomberg that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the national security implications of foreign investment in U.S. businesses, would not comment publicly on possible reviews or Transactions that will not be reviewed.
In April of this year, aerospace manufacturer SpaceX and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that they had jointly delivered 5,000 Starlink Internet terminals to the Ukrainian government for free through a public-private partnership.
USAID said at the time that the satellite terminals “will enable unrestricted, uninterrupted Internet data connectivity from anywhere in Ukraine” and allow “government officials and key citizen service providers to continue to conduct operations within Ukraine and with the outside world.” communications, even if Putin’s brutal aggression cuts Ukraine’s fiber optics or destroys cellular communications infrastructure.”
However, since then, Ukrainian demand for terminals has increased sharply to about 250,000. Musk revealed earlier in October that the operation had cost SpaceX $80 million. By the end of the year, spending will climb above $100 million.
The Epoch Times has reached out to SpaceX and Twitter for comment.
(Tom Ozimek contributed to this report)
Responsible editor: Li Yuan#