On October 15th local time, Musk suddenly posted on a social media platform that Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) will continue to provide financial support for its Starlink project in Ukraine, "even if you lose money, you will be willing to do so."
These words are completely different from Musk's attitude in September.
It turns out that on October 13, US media CNN exclusively reported that Musk wrote a letter to Pentagon in September, bluntly saying that can no longer provide "charitable funds" for Ukraine to use the "Starlink" satellite service.
According to him, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, SpaceX has spent more than $280 million on it. And for the rest of the year, SpaceX will spend more than 120 million . If the war lasts for another year, it will be nearly 2.4 billion investment.
After calculating this "sky-high bill", Musk made a straightforward request to the US military: will either be borne by the Pentagon to bear the cost of Ukrainian use of the "Starlink" service in the future, or it will prevent "Starlink" from playing a role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
There is no doubt that this is a problem that the US Department of Defense has to take care of.
On the one hand, this is indeed a considerable expense. The Pentagon cannot skip Congress and White House to "pay the bill" for the Kiev regime. On the other hand, if the US military pays, directly confirms that the US military is providing satellite support to the Ukrainian army, which will inevitably trigger Moscow's countermeasures.
There is no doubt that Musk's approach puts the United States and Ukraine in a rather awkward situation in , especially Ukraine.
Last Monday, Musk suddenly proposed the "peace plan" regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The content changed the face of the entire Ukrainian political arena because he suggested that Ukraine recognize that Crimea belongs to Russia, always remain neutral, and let the United Nations supervise Donetsk and other four places hold a "referendum to Russia" again.
No matter which suggestion is unacceptable to Zelensky government, which naturally triggered a series of criticisms in Ukrainian political arena, including the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany Melnik who replied to Musk and asked him to "get out" .
Interestingly, Melnik's remarks seem to hit Musk's "thinking", and the latter immediately stated on the social media platform that will "get out of order" and withdraw the "Starlink" service from Ukraine .
What’s more interesting is that the attitude of Ukrainian politics has also changed, and many senior officials began to touted Musk’s contribution to Ukraine . Just a few days ago, Musk's portrait was just removed from the "International Celebrity Billboard" established by the city of Odessa, Ukraine.
It is obvious that Zelensky's government pursues "pragmatism" . As long as Musk is willing to provide "Starlink" services to the Ukrainian army, the Kiev regime can only coldly deal with Musk's "offensive remarks".
Against this background, Musk changed his tone again.
On the 15th local time, Musk posted another tweet, claimed that SpaceX will continue to provide financial support for projects using the "Starlink" service in Ukraine, even if it is "loss money."
I have to say that Musk is an excellent businessman for , an excellent marketing master for , and a typical Western elite in .
As soon as Musk made some trouble, the Pentagon showed signs of surrender. On the 54th of 1html, Singer, the deputy press secretary of the Pentagon, said that the US Department of Defense has been communicating with SpaceX and working with partners and allies to try to find the best solution .
What is the best solution?
of course is a solution that can not only benefit Musk, but also be accepted by the US government.It may be more USD , or Pentagon order , or may be helping Musk for the official investigation (Musk wants to acquire Twitter but refuses to disclose necessary documents to the relevant departments).
It is obvious that this is a deal that will allow Musk to take advantage.
Secondly, According to the exposed internal documents of the Pentagon, US Agency for International Development actually paid SpaceX a high fee . Among the 20,000 "Starlink" terminals used by Ukraine, 85% are sponsored by the governments of the United States, , Poland, , the United Kingdom and other countries.
More importantly, the U.S. government pays 2.5 times the cost of SpaceX , which is definitely not a loss-making deal for Musk.
However, Musk successfully hyped this incident, making more people think that SpaceX is a company that supports Ukraine, and even paid a lot of money for it. In addition, given the performance of the Ukrainian army, it is easy for to make people think that "Starlink" has played a key role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. In the future, SpaceX will definitely receive more cooperation intentions.
It is certain that this event is a free advertisement for SpaceX and its value cannot be measured.
, is the "peace plan" proposed by Musk really absurd? In the minds of senior American officials, many of Musk's suggestions are likely to be the terms reached after future negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
As an elite in American society, Musk's views can actually represent many people, but for some reasons, such as catering to the public opinion direction created by the US government, Musk can only occasionally reveal some "special" views.
In short, all aspects and bits of the situation in Russia and Ukraine are by no means some "isms" repeatedly mentioned by the United States, the West or Russia, but a complete business.
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