Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said on Friday, October 30, that Elon Musk’s own posts about Starlink in Ukraine, together with new press reporting, are grounds for an inquiry into whether the mid-October service slowdowns were used to steer the U.S. government toward a more expensive contract.
What Padilla said
In a post on X, Padilla wrote that Musk had “ADMITTED SpaceX throttled Starlink internet access in Ukraine” and that “new reporting raises serious questions about whether the Starlink outage was used to squeeze more money out of U.S. taxpayers.” He added: “Worth an inquiry, don’t you think?” Padilla also suggested it could amount to a federal crime. That is his characterization only: no prosecutor has charged Musk or SpaceX over the outage.
The reporting behind it
- The Atlantic reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that when military officials asked SpaceX about the Ukraine outages, the company advised switching to an upgraded contract to restore access. Starshield, SpaceX’s military service, costs far more than Starlink, and the U.S. government has paid for much of Ukraine’s service.
- Musk’s posts: on October 24 Musk wrote that Ukraine’s military had violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it for offensive drone strikes and that “that loophole was closed last week.” He has also said Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government and that any speed or usage limits there are decided by the U.S. military.
- Ukraine’s side: an adviser to President Zelenskyy has disputed Musk’s claim, saying speed limits and the lack of coverage over Russia made commercial Starlink unusable for those strikes.
Why it matters
Padilla’s call adds to a stack of congressional requests. Four senators asked SpaceX for answers by November 2, Sen. Richard Blumenthal opened a Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations inquiry on October 22, and a bicameral letter led by Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Gregory Meeks asked Musk to respond by October 31. Earlier this week the Pentagon’s inspector general declined a bipartisan request to investigate, pointing senators to the Air Force and Space Force instead, though it said it may reconsider if new information emerges.
Sources: Combat Rated, CNN