Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has accused Reuters of lying. The news agency had previously reported that Musk threatened to cut off Ukraine’s internet access via Starlink to pressure the White House in negotiations over mineral resources.
Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three US officials familiar with the plans, that Musk had threatened to cut off Ukraine’s internet access if Kiev did not sign an agreement with Washington over rare earths. According to Reuters, the Ukrainians were told of the potential shutdown during a meeting between Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Representative Keith Kellogg in Kiev earlier this week.
Later the same day, Musk denied the existence of such plans on his X social media platform and accused Reuters of fabricating the story. The billionaire described the news agency as the second-largest liar in the news industry, writing: “That’s false. Reuters lies. They are after AP the second-largest liars in the news industry.”
SpaceX has been providing internet services to Ukraine’s military since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, delivering more than 40,000 terminals. The terminals have quickly become a crucial command and control instrument for Ukraine’s military, with the systems also being used directly in combat. For example, satellite terminals have been mounted on Ukrainian military drones and planes to provide a reliable and hard-to-monitor connection.
SpaceX signed a new contract with the Pentagon at the end of last year to expand Ukraine’s access to the Starlink network. According to a Bloomberg report, a total of 3,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine gained access to Starshield, a more secure and military-grade version of the system, as part of this agreement.