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The US paid $15M for terminals and services, and paid 3x the cost of what SpaceX sells them for to general consumers. Musk and SpaceX claimed otherwise but the

The US paid $15M for terminals and services, and paid 3x the cost of what SpaceX sells them for to general consumers. Musk and SpaceX claimed otherwise but the USAID replied with receipts. https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-ukraine-starlink-government-funding https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-ukraine-starli... https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/8/23016670/starlink-spacex-us-government-terminals-funding-usaid https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/8/23016670/starlink-spacex-u... Any "free" service was always to demo the usefulness of the product to the DoD for them eventually to pay through the nose. Musk got flak for his comments because a) it was a half-truth b) he made it very publicly, c) he started promoting Russian government accounts on For You pages, and d) he started echoing Russian sentiments and/or falsehoods about the war. If he had not done any of that he would have still gotten the money and not looked like a fool. No one expected Starlink to lose money on the deal, and they haven't.

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ed25519FUUU 3y ago
Funny to me that spacex is the only company not allowed to grift the US government war machine.
- partiallypro 3y ago
  What are you talking about? You do realize you're replying to a thread on the Pentagon giving SpaceX funding, right? Not to mention SpaceX already had pre-existing contracts with the DoD and even has a defense contractor arm dubbed StarShield. Musk only got pushback because he went on a childish tirade (an increasing habit of his) on Twitter and then started pushing opposition narratives.
- foobarqux 3y ago
  It's amazing that people go from "Musk is not grifting the US government" to "Musk is grifting the government (actually the people of the US) and that is good and right".
  - George83728 3y ago
    You're overloading your definitions of "grift", to simultaneously mean dishonest scamming and standard profiteering. SpaceX is a regular for-profit defense contractor. They aren't scamming the government. For anybody aligned with America's foreign policy interests, both of these are a good thing. (And for those who aren't, it's an unmitigated disaster.)
    - mardifoufs 3y ago
      Grifting basically just means "people I don't like are making money" at this point. I've seen someone selling industrial tooling being called a grifter.
    - foobarqux 3y ago
      People should decide if the price is too high to pay, it shouldn't be done it secret, essentially robbing them. I don't think the public would accept the prices being charged in this case. Arguing about what words to use to describe this is beside the point.
      - adventured 3y ago
        Starlink is close to magic as far as the situation in Ukraine is concerned. There is no such thing as a price too high. There's losing the war with Russia vs paying whatever it takes to keep your information networks functional. Go ahead and list all the other companies or countries that have done what SpaceX has with Starlink (the answer is: something like it has never existed before in human history).
      - George83728 3y ago
        > "essentially robbery" There you go, with your 'creative' use of language again. You seem strangely upset about Ukraine having internet access, because you're throwing up all sorts of FUD about it throughout this discussion (16 comments from you so far; 21% of posts in this discussion), all with a negative tone and hyperbolic abuse of language. Why are you so keen on getting people to be upset about Starlink's use in Ukraine?

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ed25519FUUU 3y ago

Funny to me that spacex is the only company not allowed to grift the US government war machine.

partiallypro 3y ago
What are you talking about? You do realize you're replying to a thread on the Pentagon giving SpaceX funding, right? Not to mention SpaceX already had pre-existing contracts with the DoD and even has a defense contractor arm dubbed StarShield. Musk only got pushback because he went on a childish tirade (an increasing habit of his) on Twitter and then started pushing opposition narratives.
foobarqux 3y ago
It's amazing that people go from "Musk is not grifting the US government" to "Musk is grifting the government (actually the people of the US) and that is good and right".
- George83728 3y ago
  You're overloading your definitions of "grift", to simultaneously mean dishonest scamming and standard profiteering. SpaceX is a regular for-profit defense contractor. They aren't scamming the government. For anybody aligned with America's foreign policy interests, both of these are a good thing. (And for those who aren't, it's an unmitigated disaster.)
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    Grifting basically just means "people I don't like are making money" at this point. I've seen someone selling industrial tooling being called a grifter.
  - foobarqux 3y ago
    People should decide if the price is too high to pay, it shouldn't be done it secret, essentially robbing them. I don't think the public would accept the prices being charged in this case. Arguing about what words to use to describe this is beside the point.
    - adventured 3y ago
      Starlink is close to magic as far as the situation in Ukraine is concerned. There is no such thing as a price too high. There's losing the war with Russia vs paying whatever it takes to keep your information networks functional. Go ahead and list all the other companies or countries that have done what SpaceX has with Starlink (the answer is: something like it has never existed before in human history).
    - George83728 3y ago
      > "essentially robbery" There you go, with your 'creative' use of language again. You seem strangely upset about Ukraine having internet access, because you're throwing up all sorts of FUD about it throughout this discussion (16 comments from you so far; 21% of posts in this discussion), all with a negative tone and hyperbolic abuse of language. Why are you so keen on getting people to be upset about Starlink's use in Ukraine?