Ukrainian soldier says Elon Musk's Starlink satellites 'changed the war in Ukraine's favor'

[EX500rider]

Ukrainian soldier says Elon Musk's Starlink satellites 'changed the war in Ukraine's favor' as they're helping troops stay online amid Russian strikes

A Ukrainian soldier said that Elon Musk's Starlink satellites "changed the war in Ukraine's favor" because they were helping troops stay online amid Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The soldier's comments were reported by the British freelance journalist David Patrikarakos, who was reporting from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

"I want to say one thing: Elon Musk's Starlink is what changed the war in Ukraine's favor," said Dima, who said he had been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces since March, according to Patrikarakos.
"Russia went out of its way to blow up all our comms. Now they can't. Starlink works under Katyusha fire, under artillery fire. It even works in Mariupol," Dima said, per Patrikarakos.
As of last month, more than 5,000 Starlink internet terminals have been active in the country, The Washington Post reported. Fedorov told The Post that Starlink has proved "very effective" for Ukraine amid the invasion.

The satellites have directly assisted Ukrainian forces in combat.
The Times of London reported last month that an elite Ukrainian drone unit is using Starlink to destroy dozens of Russian targets in the night time.
"If we use a drone with thermal vision at night, the drone must connect through Starlink to the artillery guy and create target acquisition," the leader of the unit told The Times.

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-satellites-helping-ukraine-fight-soldier-2022-4?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sf-bi-ti&fbclid=IwAR1LkXkSGitgp5zmRxGh7m3v8ZGMEN0AGt2P70oD9bsBcOT4E6KPZ2Sc3qk

[Lunabell]

1. This is awesome!!

I'm happy he isn't a putin lover. Good for Musk, now he can feed kids.

[rockfordfile]

28. Musk is a un-American fascist pos.

Actually by attacking President Biden and Canada's PM it still shows Musk is a putin supporter. Un-American and racist Musk has sided with "Russian" republicans. You can show all of the pictures of him with democrats, but it doesn't change anything.

Some people are desperate to make Musk out something he's not. It's almost like they have a investment with Musk or Twitter.

[Lunabell]

34. Yep

[EX500rider]

38. So he's a Putin supporter but is helping Ukraine fight off Russia?

[cstanleytech]

40. I don't know honestly if he is a Putin supporter however if he is

it could be an issue of not foreseeing that the satellite system would be used to thwart Putin.

[EX500rider]

41. Really?

Russia knocks out Ukrainian comm's and you wonder if Starlink restoring it could be foreseen as helping?
I don't think Musk or his advisors are that stupid.
Russia already tried to hack the system and Starlink fought them off.

[cstanleytech]

45. Yes it could simple as that. Weirder things have happened such

as the Simpsons doing an episode that had Trump as President and then years later the horror actually happens.

[EX500rider]

53. Yes a Simpsons episode is just like helping Ukraine's military in a war with Russia...

Said nobody ever....well except you.
The Ukraine made a urgent appeal to Starlink that they needed help restoring comms which are vital in a modern war, nobody with a pulse would think they weren't helping Ukr against Mordor, I mean Russia by restoring their comms.

[cstanleytech]

56. I used that as a example of wierd things that can happen but I am baffled

as it seems to me like you are trying to start an argument.

[EX500rider]

57. No just saying there's no way they don't know they're helping the Ukrainian military

Against Russia

[cstanleytech]

60. Of course they know if it's happening but foreseeing it ahead of time? I doubt it.

As for why don't they cut it off if it's true? Probably because the world is watching and would notice it.
Mind you the probability of that all is rather low but if that is what is happening you have to admit it would be rather amusing.

[NotTodayPutin]

74. You do know starling was sent AFTER the invasion right?

Just asking.

[cstanleytech]

76. Sure however that does mean that the Ukraine military using it could have been foreseen.

My personal opinion though regarding this is that I doubt Musk is Putin's pal or supports the invasion.

[EX500rider]

90. "does mean that the Ukraine military using it could have been foreseen."

Since a lot of the terminals went directly to the Ukr military I am going to say yes, it was foreseen.

[rockfordfile]

51. Musk doesn't give a rat's ass about Ukraine

Musk has pro-Russian type propaganda against President Biden and PM of Canada. Putin supporters are against the Disinformation Governance Board. Musk has whined about it with other un-American right-wing pos. Same pos that is owner of a racist car company that had to settle. Musk wants to be racist and not be held accountable.

I said before, people that are worshipping that un-American pos are no different than trumpers.

[EX500rider]

52. So he donated the Starlink service why exactly?

On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine, while the company donated nearly 3,670 terminals and the Internet service itself.

[rockfordfile]

54. Musk is giving with one hand and being un-American fascist pos with the other

[LuckyCharms]

91. Musk may indeed be all of these things, or

maybe he is these things to some degree, or to no degree.

I don't know.

But the OP is discussing something created by Musk that has helped the Ukrainians.

What is your opinion on that?

[Igirl]

95. An independent citizen that's done more for Ukraine

Than most countries…and you?
More too reduce carbon output than entire countries…
But he is the bad guy cause Twitter.
I refuse to join the musk hate bandwagon because of these simple unproven arguments.
He has done so much to improve our outlook for tomorrow as an independent citizen.

[NBachers]

2. I'll give credit where credit's due

[ColinC]

4. ...to all of the overworked SpaceX employees that engineered, built and manufactured these

And to the US government for paying SpaceX for the systems? Sounds fair

[ColinC]

8. Why is giving credit to the people who developed and built a device

that the government funded (both times), "whining"?

Elon Musk did not gift these to Ukraine. They were purchased by the US government. Musk deserves nearly 0 credit for this transfer.

[USALiberal]

9. Does musk deserve any credit? Nt

[ColinC]

11. Virtually none.

[ColinC]

13. Question: have you ever had a candid conversation with a SpaceX employee?

Their success comes despite Musk's horrible management, not because of it.

[USALiberal]

15. They are welcome to quit. That's what people do when they hate their jobs.

[ColinC]

59. They do. Just look at the NLRB complaints and turnover rates of his companies..

The people I am talking about are former employees who stuck it through far longer than they felt they should.

[Hoyt]

16. Are you saying no one wants to work for Musk?

[ColinC]

58. Not at all. But I would imagine he would get better results if they were not burned out

[Hoyt]

62. Most of the engineers, etc., likely don't feel burnout. Bet they are humming,

living a dream

Would agree, for line workers, etc. It’s tough. But I bet there is a line for those jobs too.

[ColinC]

64. Have you spoken with any?

Have you read any of the NLRB complaints? Have you looked at the turnover rates?

All of the above suggests to me the opposite, and betting otherwise is about as safe as betting on dogecoin right now.

[Hoyt]

65. There is not a large company -- even ones favored by Dems -- that doesn't have

complaints. However, I do believe legitimate complaints MUST be addressed.

Can’t cite it now, but there are sites that show companies favored by political affiliations. Even the highest rated by Democrats have lots of complaints, some of which are serious. Others are just people like me who complain a lot.

[ColinC]

66. The companyis currently being sued by the state of California for racism

I have spoken with many former employees personally -and although anecdotal, they confirm the overall narrative backed by overwhelmingly large nrlb complaints, lawsuits and huge turnover rates.

For instance, compare the turnover rate of SpaceX to a competitor like Boeing, Lockheed or Northrop and it is night and day. Compare the complaints by these contractors and it is night and day. The only reason I can see this being the case is because the company has a rampantly pervasive culture of toxicity that leads to it.

I imagine if they solved these issues than the brilliant people who work for them wouldn't leave for a competitor as the people I have spoken with have done.

[Hoyt]

67. Bet they have a long waiting list of Democrats who would love to work for Musk.

[ColinC]

69. Still doesn't change the evidence that it is likely a shitty place to work for.

[Igirl]

97. Nor is there another large company that's done as much

For Ukraine.
But Elon bad.

[Hoyt]

98. Yep, "Elon bad" seems to be the meme of the week.

[ColinC]

100. He's always sucked.

More people just seem to be catching on to that fact, I guess.

His companies have been great. He, as an individual, is not much better than nearly any other anti union billionaire who exploits and profits off of the hard work of his employees.

[Hoyt]

101. The people waiting for a chance to work for his companies don't bear that out.

[ColinC]

107. The people leaving for better companies, do.

[Hoyt]

110. What exactly are those better companies?

[ColinC]

117. Literally any other major defense contractor.

Boeing is unionized, for instance, and has very low turnover.

[Hoyt]

118. Boeing has lot of employee complaints. Plus, Musk gets points for not being heavily into bombs, etc.

[ColinC]

119. Boeing has lots more employees. Per Capita, they have far less complaints.

Bombs are necessary for Ukraine right now. But that isn't the question, the question is whether it is a better company to work for. Based on complaints, unionization and turnover, it clearly is.

[Hoyt]

123. Love how we've turned to supporting military spending to further hate on Musk.

[ColinC]

124. Not hating. Just acknowledging how defense companies do better

In war efforts than non defense companies.

[ColinC]

99. I disagree. I think the companies that make the javelins, etc have done far more

Than SpaceX.

[Hoyt]

102. Now, you are supporting Raytheon & Lockheed Martin to get at Musk. Jeeeeez.

[ColinC]

104. Do you deny they have built the basic weaponry for Ukraine to defend themselves?

General Atomics literally offered to donate Reaper drones to Ukraine -somerhing that could single handedly shift the war in their favor. To say Musk has done more than any other company does not sound accurate.

[Hoyt]

108. I don't care. Zelensky: "I'm grateful to him [Musk] for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds."

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday thanked billionaire Elon Musk for supporting his country with the Starlink satellite Internet service, Belga News Agency reports.

"“Talked to Elon Musk,” President Zelensky tweeted after a conversation with the SpaceX CEO. “I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds. Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities.”

"President Zelensky also said they “discussed possible space projects”. “But I’ll talk about this after the war,” he added."

https://www.brusselstimes.com/209633/ukraines-president-thanks-elon-musk-for-telecoms-support

[ColinC]

109. Cool. What has he said about weapons?

I'm sure there are plenty of quotes you can pull that aren't limited to a single system.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/international/ukraine-president-zelenskyy-thankful-for-800-mn-in-military-aid-122041400102_1.html

[EX500rider]

111. The drones are basically useless without a sat link back to the user.

Ukr needs secure comms most of all, modern warfare demands it to win, you need to get inside the enemies decision loop and beat them to the punch, all the weapons in the world won't help Ukr in they are not in the right spot at the right time.
Especially as they are out numbered, they need to shift their forces around to keep the Russians from breaking out and they need to strike the follow-on forces and logistical tail, all which require real time un-jammable comms.

[ColinC]

112. And the satellite links are useless without weapons to protect them.

The weapons are first and foremost. To think one system is doing more than the multitude of weapon systems required to protect the country -again, seems inaccurate.

[WarGamer]

103. the profiteering MIC?

I think they're greedy blood thirsty vampires.

[ColinC]

106. Cannot deny that. I also cannot deny they have helped Ukraine substantially

The MIC exists, but Ukraine would have been run over by the Russians two months ago without the MIC. To deny this is to deny reality.

[WarGamer]

127. the MIC doesn't load boats with weapons for free...

The US pays the bills.

Greed.

I Like the idea of the US sending weapons that WON'T be replaced in inventory.

[ColinC]

128. I like the idea of not needing it entirely

But again, not the case.

[manicdem]

83. High rankings

All of Musks businesses have high ratings. He does work them hard but it must be worth it to the employees since people want to work there. I credit Musks management if the company cause theyre all pretty successful against the odds and hes a hands on manager.

[Hoyt]

113. Just read this story about him. I worked in a situation like this once and loved every minute.

Circa 2010, as Tesla was developing its first mass-market car, the Model S sedan, engineers on the project would occasionally hitch rides from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley on Musk’s private jet. On one such trip, an engineer recalled asking Musk his opinion on the sedan’s suspension – should it be sporty like a BMW, or more cushy like a Lexus?

“I’m going to sell a f*** load of cars, so whatever suspension you need so I can sell a f*** load of cars – that’s the suspension I want,” Musk replied according to the engineer.

[AllyCat]

19. Agree with Colin C.

Musk is the insane tweet business guy and his people do the work. Taxpayers bought the comm system.

[EX500rider]

55. "Taxpayers bought the comm system."

Wonder how many times I will have to post this:


On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine, while the company donated nearly 3,670 terminals and the Internet service itself.

[ColinC]

61. SpaceX originally claimed the US gave them nothing. That was a lie.

And if you consider the amount of government aid Spacex was provided in developing and manufacturing these products, the idea that taxpayers largely footed the bill for the comm systems is more correct than not.

[Sgent]

77. Orginally they didn't

the original shipment was sent before any aid was authorized by USAID.

[ColinC]

78. Not true. The entire charge of shipping was covered by the government

The government paid 3X the retail price for the system. If they paid the retail price it would have covered all of the units.

[Sgent]

79. There is no "retail" version sold

the only thing you can buy at retail requires a 3 year contract for internet service at 1200/yr which UKR/ US is not signing.

Third parties who have examined the equipment estimated cost of V1 at about $2500 and Elon said he hoped to get V2 under $1000. The first shipment was V1 and the second shipment was a mix I believe.

[ColinC]

80. Again. Not true.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/spacex-starlink-premium-satellite-internet-tier-at-500-per-month.html

The standard Starlink service, which launched in October 2020, has a $99 refundable deposit, a $499 hardware fee and the service costs $99 per month.

[manicdem]

81. The systems cost a lot more than that.

The $499 cost (now $599) cost of the kit is the subsidized price in exchange for the service contract. Like how cellphone companies subsidized or gave away free phones in exchange for a service contract. The higher price the US paid is likely the kit cost without the contract. Or it could also be the higher priced, higher performance kit that was just released.

This was published last year:

"The current $499 Starlink dish, while expensive, is actually being sold at a significant loss for the company. Originally, the dish cost $3,000 to produce before SpaceX managed to reduce the amount to $1,500 and then $1,300, Shotwell said back in April. "

[AllyCat]

70. Great. I hope that's true. Just feel Musk loves to toot his own horn

And for all his bluster, just looks at making money and getting press.

[Hoyt]

115. And yet, he quitely donated $5.7 B recently, didn't toot his horn, and people still bashed him.

[ColinC]

120. Yet still pays nearly 0 taxes. Donations don't compare to his fair share of taxes he has avoided.

Compared to he average Joe, he has sacrificed little in supporting the fight in Ukraine. The average person pays about 30-40% in taxes which fund the weapons sent to Ukraine, from their net worth. We are lucky if he has even paid 1% of his net worth.

[Hoyt]

121. Actually, he paid $11 billion in taxes recently. That was before selling

stock for Twitter. Clearly he should pay more. He openly supports estate taxes, etc.

How many average Joes pay that in income taxes that they won’t get back in Social Security, disability, Medicare, etc.?

[ColinC]

125. Less than 5% in taxes

Must be nice

[Hoyt]

129. Colin, you can start a company and get the same breaks as Musk for amortizing startup expenses,

research, development, equipment, etc. As long as you don't sell the stock, you won't get taxed. If you are really sucessful, you'll have thousands of well paid employees paying taxes.

And if you want, you can pay what cash you generate in excess taxes.

The top 10% in this country pay over 70% of income taxes. They should clearly pay more, but every Democratic admin has realized that we'd be up chit creek financially if it weren't for the Musks, Gates, vaccine companies, etc.

I live in a semi-rural area, but thank gawd Amazon was there to keep me stocked up during pandemic. Most of the small stores closed or couldn't stay stocked up, not to mention their prices were higher.

I, like Musk, support a more robust estate taxes. Don't know about him, but increased capital gains rates seem proper, but only to point it's not impacting economy negatively. I think some kind of wealth tax is proper, but more like requiring wealthy to sell a certain portion of their holding each year, like with IRA/401Ks after age 72.

Do you work for a large company?

[ColinC]

132. Or people can just start paying their fair share in taxes to begin with

Regardless of how successful they become. Crazy idea, I know...

[ColinC]

135. ...if my dad owned an emerald mine in apartheid south africa

...I too might have had the luxury and capital to focus on inventions and risk new business ventures. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with most people.

[EX500rider]

138. What did his dad's money have to do with anything?

Are you under the impression Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1990 was exclusive or super expensive?
Or the University of Pennsylvania?

His road to being a billionaire started in 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded web software company Zip2 with funds from investors. Musk says that before the company became successful, he could not afford an apartment and instead rented an office and slept on the couch and showered at the YMCA, and shared one computer with his brother.

Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999, and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.
He took that money and founded X.com & renamed it PayPal in 2001.
In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk received $175.8 million.

Where does his dad fit in exactly?

[ColinC]

139. Trying to tell a random lower middle class person that they have the same ooportunities

Last edited Tue May 3, 2022, 10:33 PM - Edit history (1)

As the son of a millionaire, is absolutely insane.

[EX500rider]

140. Who says his dad was a billionaire?

And it does not seem he used any of his dad's money, he moved to Canada when he was 17.
Musk arrived in Canada and lived with a second cousin in Saskatchewan for a year, working odd jobs at a farm and lumber-mill, don't see any silver spoon there.

[EX500rider]

133. 5% of what? You don't pay taxes on your total wealth every year but on income nt

[ColinC]

134. Most people actually do pay based on nearly their total wealth

Because they never got to the point to put substantial money in non taxable things like stock.


Must be nice... Paying only 5% of your total wealth in taxes after paying nearly nothing for years.

[EX500rider]

122. Musk is paying the highest tax bill ever paid by a individual for last year $11 billion

https://abc7.com/does-elon-musk-pay-taxes-how-much-in-net-worth-tesla/11402993/

[ColinC]

131. That highlights a larger problem. It doesn't actually make Musk honorable.

Paying 5% in taxes after paying nothing for so long again only shows how much the system advantages the super duper wealthy.

[ColinC]

71. The government paid about 3X the retail price for the systems.

If they paid the retail price, they would have likely covered more than the entire retail cost of the 5,000 units, especially if you include the 800k that the government covered for transportation.

[PortTack]

25. The question should be if the Us govt had not stepped up and paid would musk have acted anyway?

How say you?

Me..a big NO!!!

[SergeStorms]

30. Not to mention....

the positive ink he's getting from this, along with generous tax deductions.

Musk doesn't do anything from the goodness of his heart. He has none.

[EX500rider]

35. What makes you think the govt paid for them all?

On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine, while the company donated nearly 3,670 terminals and the Internet service itself.
Sounds like Starlink did pay for most of it.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/08/us-quietly-paying-millions-send-starlink-terminals-ukraine-contrary-spacexs-claims/

[ColinC]

63. The question remains.

SpaceX was paid for terminals regardless of how many. They denied they were paid which was a flat out lie. There is doubt in our minds these terminals would have been donated if the government did not pay for any as an incentive.

[PortTack]

92. I don't agree with your assessment of the WaPo article

Last edited Tue May 3, 2022, 03:04 AM - Edit history (1)

On Thursday, USAID spokesperson Rebecca Chalif said in a statement that the “delivery of Starlink terminals were made possible by a range of stakeholders, whose combined contributions valued over $15 million and facilitated the procurement, international flights, ground transportation, and satellite Internet service of 5,000 Starlink terminals.”
The agency declined to answer questions about how much USAID funding is going toward buying and transporting equipment for Ukraine, referring them to SpaceX. SpaceX did not return a request for comment on the arrangement and the specific financials of the deal.

[EX500rider]

94. By "my assessment" you mean my direct quote from the article? nt

[PortTack]

96. This

It is also unclear whether the price the U.S. government is paying for individual Starlink units matches their typical market price.
USAID is paying $1,500 for each standard terminal and the accompanying service, documents show. According to the Starlink website, a standard terminal set costs $600

[EX500rider]

105. No, a terminal costs a lot more but Starlink sells them at a big discount when you sign up for 3 yrs

But the real costs is around the $1,500 mark.

[PortTack]

116. Okay so their website says the cost is $600? Very curious. If the cost is really $1500

My point is as much that Musk is not some great philanthropic guy, or even a good citizen of the world for that matter

Read about what he did in Brazil over lithium mining. Or what he said to gov abbott after the passing of their anti abortion bill. Or what he recently said via twitter to Senator Sanders. Read about how his parents ruthlessly exploited South Africans while accumulating their fortune. Or now says that the Dems are the problem. Or that he said he would give 6 billion to end hunger

Yes, Elon Musk tweeted he would donate $6B to fight world hunger if UN met certain conditions

In 2021 Musk told the UN's World Food Programme that he would donate $6B to solve world hunger if they could share a plan on how they’d spend the money. They did...he didn’t.

There’s always gonna be someone apologizing for this guy…why? He cares about his money and himself.

[MerryBlooms]

126. It wasn't just the US, according to news reports, it was

Many governments who paid millions for the satellites. I'm glad the technology was there to buy, but people claiming musk donated out of goodness, are mistaken.

You are spot-on!

Musk made millions, which is fine, but people shouldn't claim otherwise.

[EX500rider]

39. Actually they did gift most of them.

On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine, while the company donated nearly 3,670 terminals and the Internet service itself.

Sounds like Starlink did pay for most of it.

[ColinC]

68. Starlink dishes are sold at 500 a piece

Last edited Sun May 1, 2022, 01:44 AM - Edit history (1)

The government bought them at 3 times that price. They bought 1330 for 2 million dollars plus about 800k for transportation. They got a 500,000 dollar discount from the retail price if they bought all 5,000 units which they did not. Instead they overpaid about 900 bucks a unit for 1330. I hardly see that as "Starlink paying for the systems," and instead the government essentially paying for the entire shipment -again at a discount.

[manicdem]

82. Kits cost more

The $499 cost (now $599) cost of the kit is the subsidized price in exchange for the service contract. Like how cellphone companies subsidized or gave away free phones in exchange for a service contract. The higher price the US paid is likely the kit cost without the contract. Or it could also be the higher priced, higher performance kit that was just released.

This was published last year:

"The current $499 Starlink dish, while expensive, is actually being sold at a significant loss for the company. Originally, the dish cost $3,000 to produce before SpaceX managed to reduce the amount to $1,500 and then $1,300, Shotwell said back in April. "

[blm]

3. Trump is on Russia's side along with most of the GOP.

Last edited Sat Apr 30, 2022, 10:37 PM - Edit history (1)

The vocal, QAnon wing of the GOP, anyway.

Why is Musk catering to the cravenness of these Putin puppets?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/briefing/republican-party-putin-wing.html

https://www.newsweek.com/majority-republicans-polled-view-putin-very-strong-leader-1682076

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-voters-hold-more-favorable-view-putin-they-do-biden-poll-1683459

Trump Voters Hold a More Favorable View of Putin Than They Do Biden: Poll

[EX500rider]

36. "... on Russia's side along with most of the GOP."

The House vote for military lend-lease bill to speed Ukraine aid was passed 417-10
I don't think 10 votes counts as "most of the GOP"

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/House-passes-military-lend-lease-bill-to-speed-17134535.php

[Pachamama]

5. I still don't trust Musk

Yes - it was a good thing - but that doesn’t mean he can be trusted to having good intentions.

[USALiberal]

10. So, NASA was stupid to hire him?? Nt

[Hoyt]

18. There was a thread on that too bashing NASA for using contractors, not

realizing that Apollo and most missions were pretty much contractors.

Wonder if Biden will jettison under pressure?

[localroger]

47. NASA was ENTIRELY contractors

NASA never built anything, and that was by design. They did the large-scale engineering, wrote specs, and put out bids to meet those specs. All the details and the manufacturing were left to the contractors.

[ColinC]

73. Most government contractors are half decent

SpaceX likely misses that mark by a lot, unfortunately.

[lpbk2713]

6. The Russian generals are probably pulling their hair out.

They can't seem to do anything that has a successful long term effect.

[bahboo]

14. the ones that are still alive....

[Celerity]

75. +1

[Hoyt]

17. Now, that's not fitting with the general tenor.

[Crunchy Frog]

20. Well, I at least give him credit for that.

[nycbos]

21. Musk seems like he has a split personality.

He's 50% decent 50% bond villain.

[yaesu]

22. The technology definitely did a solid for Ukraine but its wasn't given away, it was purchased by

wealthy individuals who were sought out by Musk & others involved. You don't become the richest person in the World by giving anything for free.

[greenjar_01]

23. Supposed silver lining for Dem Elon fanboys

These people need to get a life.

[LAS14]

24. Well that's cheering! nt

[orangecrush]

26. Credit

Where credit is due.

[amuse bouche]

27. Musk should buy some Fighter Jets for the Ukrainians, instead

of wasting money on twitter.


He constantly whines about 'wokeness'

He and his obnoxious Ego, make me sick

[EX500rider]

33. Reliable communications and internet

Will help the Ukrainian military much more than some fighter planes. I doubt they have a unlimited amount of trained pilots ready to go

[amuse bouche]

44. My point was the grotesque waste of money on buying twitter

Last edited Sat Apr 30, 2022, 11:22 PM - Edit history (1)

They have plenty of qualified pilots. The pilots themselves have said so He is a vile and obnoxious pig and liar

[EX500rider]

46. How exactly did he benefit from apartheid?

His father may have but Musk moved to Canada when he was 17 and in 1995 founded web software company Zip2 with funds from investors.
Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in 1999, and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.
He took that money and founded X.com & renamed it PayPal in 2001.
In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk received $175.8 million.

How does apartheid fit into all that?

[Wingus Dingus]

29. He does some good things. He's a mixed bag.

[DallasNE]

31. Not Wise To Publish This

As it tells Putin too much about military operations and may give them a gateway to counter the satellite technology. Boast after the war is over, not while it is ongoing.

[EX500rider]

37. Russia has already been trying to hack Starlink

Starlink fought them off.

A Pentagon official has detailed the speed at which Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink fought off a Russian jamming attack in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Dave Tremper, director of electronic warfare for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told the C4ISRNET Conference that Starlink countered the attack faster than the US military would have been able to.

Starlink, the satellite-based internet division of SpaceX, has been helping Ukrainians stay online during Russia's invasion. SpaceX CEO Musk sent Starlink kits to Ukraine after Mykhailo Fedorov, the country's vice prime minister, requested help from the billionaire in late February.

Musk said on March 25 that Starlink had, at that point, "resisted all hacking and jamming attempts." Tremper's comments are thought to provide the first details of a Russian jamming attempt on Starlink's systems.


Tremper said that the day after reports of a Russian jamming attack emerged, "Starlink had slung a line of code and fixed it," and suddenly the attack "was not effective anymore." He said the countermeasure employed by Starlink was "fantastic," adding: "How they did that was eye-watering to me."


https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starlink-pentagon-russian-jamming-attack-elon-musk-dave-tremper-2022-4

[Igel]

43. That's often to the case.

I keep wondering why a reporter or writer is proud to have uncovered something and reported it--something operational, actionable, and significant.

With self-goals like that?

Now, maybe Ru intel has already figured these things out. But you know, unless you know what Ru intel knows you can't say if you're divulging not just what's unknown to Westerns but what's unknown to the GRU.

There's a reason Ukraine squelched a lot of cell-phone front-lines reporting by soldiers. Too easy to pin down--and shell--their positions.

Observation 1: People are stupid. (Yes, that includes me. But accepting this, like accepting addiction, allows for facing and trying to fix the horrible condition.)

[ecstatic]

137. Exactly! Nt

[Deep State Witch]

32. Well, Musk Is A Little Less of a Jerk

For doing this. Slightly less evil.

[IronLionZion]

42. More supervillains should do good things

I'll give him credit where it's due

[SoonerPride]

48. The ones he promised were free but the US paid for instead ?

Thank Biden not Musk.

[EX500rider]

49. Don't think so:

On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has purchased more than 1,330 terminals from SpaceX to send to Ukraine, while the company donated nearly 3,670 terminals and the Internet service itself.

Sounds like Starlink did pay for most of it.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/08/us-quietly-paying-millions-send-starlink-terminals-ukraine-contrary-spacexs-claims/

[Abolishinist]

72. Kudos to you for putting forth logic and reason vs. unsupported, emotional drivel.

Wow.

[dalton99a]

50. Next he'll take credit for the sun rising.

"Elon Saves Ukraine" / "Elon Saves The World"?

[48656c6c6f20]

84. I'm thinking some USA and NATO

MBT, Helicopters, fighter jets, cruise missles up Pootins ass would be 100 times more effective as Starlink. Seems like Starlink assists in communication but doesn't kill Russians directly. Ukraine needs dead Russian to remove the invaders.

Using advanced satellites in a low orbit, Starlink enables video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet. Users can expect to see download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20ms in most locations

[EX500rider]

87. No not really

Without communications you can't tell your forward troops what targets to hit..
Your uavs are useless without communications between them and the artillery units for on time targeting advice.
You also can't communicate with your brigades to move them to block Russian breakthroughs etc

[EX500rider]

88. It works like this:

The Ukrainians were equally innovative in finding new ways to use Starlink Internet service in combat. One example was using Starlink to support attacks on Russian supply lines day and night. The night attacks were effective because of the use of small Ukrainian designed UAVs equipped with GPS, a night vision camera, a laser range finder and a link to a nearby artillery unit via Starlink. The UAV patrolled Russian supply routes at night and, when a convoy was spotted trying to move safely in the dark, the artillery unit had the continually updated location of the trucks. That enabled the Ukrainians to fire at the convoy and destroy many of the vehicles while demoralizing the survivors who didn’t believe the Ukrainians could detect them in the dark and call-in accurate artillery fire.

Similar innovations were developed to provide Ukrainian military units with better communications than the Russian invaders. That edge has been maintained and it is expected that the Russians will continue trying to disrupt Starlink service.

[48656c6c6f20]

89. Yeah think

How successful they could be with real comms and not some Radio Shack stuff. We could give them that too.

[EX500rider]

114. "Radio Shack" stuff?

Trying to remember when Radio Shack had 2,000+ un-jammable satellites in orbit able to deliver broadband internet to anywhere on the planet...what are these "real comms" you speak of?
US military land based radios are jammable, even the frequency hoping ones and are basically limited range line-of-sight and require repeater towers or or airborne repeaters to cover a country.

[FreepFryer]

85. Hope he doesn't decide to use them against democracy in a fit of pique next time (Nt)

[BSdetect]

86. k&r

[andym]

93. Musk supporting freedom for Ukraine is good. His freedom of speech position is problematic

but is consistent with that of many Democrats as well as libertarians. Mike Dukakis was assailed by Bush senior for being a card-"carrying member of the ACLU". In that era there was a lot of controversy about the ACLU supporting American neo-Nazi's marching in Skokie, Ill.

The problem now is that unfettered free speech on the social network platforms allows and amplifies misinformation and disinformation. The courts in the USA have tended toward a very expansive view of free speech. There needs to be some mechanisms of spotting and tagging misinformation and disinformation with clear way of communicating that to the public. It is very unclear what will happen when we will have a powerful social network allowing bad actors and others seeking to manipulate Americans (and the world) amplify their message. Facebook is already part of the problem. The marketplace of idea approach to freedom of speech is definitely problematic, because the most popular ideas are not the same as the best ideas.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

130. Musk isn't pro Putin.

[Raine]

136. A very good thing! 👍nt