Daily Archives: February 28, 2022

Starlink is now active in Ukraine, Elon Musk announced afterUkraines vice prime minister on Saturday requested the SpaceX billionaire helpthe embattled country with communication satellites.

Starlink service is now active in Ukraine,Musk tweetedabout 10 hours after the call for help. More terminals en route.

The response came after Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked for the controversial business magnate for Starlink stations.

@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! Fedorov, also the countrys Ministry of Digital Transformation, tweeted We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.

Musks response also came as Ukrainefaced a third day of assaults from Russiaand troops continued their assault on Kyiv.

Musk has via SpaceX launched thousands of Starlink satellites into Earths orbit, increasing broadband service in parts of the world. The satellites help carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on Earth, avoiding the need for fiber-optic cables.

The satellites could provide data links to areas of Ukraine that have lost internet access during the war. Russias assaults on cities across Ukraine have left parts of the country with internet outages.

Russiasfull-fledged war on Ukraine beganWednesdaywhen Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation.

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Elon Musk activates Starlink in Ukraine

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his space company's Starlink satellite internet service is available in Ukraine and more terminals to use it are on the way.

Musk made the statement on Twitter Saturday (Feb. 26) after being asked by a Ukrainian government official if SpaceX could provide more Starlink services to the country after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last week. Internet services in Ukraine has seen "significant disruptions" in the capital city of Kyiv and across much of the country due to Russian military operations and the ensuing fighting, the monitoring group Netblocks reported on Thursday (Feb. 24).

"@ElonMusk, while you try to colonize Mars Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also the country's minister of digital transformation, asked Musk on Twitter Saturday.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk replied. "More terminals en route."

Related: SpaceX's Starlink satellite megaconstellation launches in photos

SpaceX's Starlink service offers high-speed broadband access via a massive constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit and is designed to ultimately provide coverage anywhere on Earth, with a focus on remote areas or underserved regions. Starlink users access the space-based internet service using a satellite dish placed on or near the location where service is needed.

Musk and SpaceX recently sent 50 Starlink terminals to the island nation of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean to provide free internet access to help reconnect remote villages there after a massive volcano eruption and tsunami in January, according to Reuters. The Starlink terminals will help restore communications with some of the hardest hit regions from the natural disaster.

Since 2019, SpaceX has launched over 2,000 of the satellites for the constellation, which is expected to reach up to 14,000 in its initial form. The company's most recent launch occurred on Friday (Feb. 25), when SpaceX lofted 50 new Starlink satellites into orbit from a pad at California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

SpaceX's next Starlink mission is expected to lift off later this week on Thursday (March 3) from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Email Tariq Malik attmalik@space.comor follow him@tariqjmalik. Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandInstagram.

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Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet ...

Elon Musk acknowledged that SpaceX delivered to Ukraine terminals that connect to the company's Starlink satellite-based internet service.

Over the weekend, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which Mr. Musk founded, said the service would be available in Ukraine, and he promised to deliver more terminals. On Monday, Mykhailo Fedorov, the minister of digital transformation for Ukraine, said in a tweet that Starlink terminals had arrived. He posted a photograph to Twitter that appeared to show boxes for the devices in a truck and thanked Mr. Musk.

You are most welcome, Mr. Musk responded.

SpaceX didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. SpaceX has been building out its Starlink service, which uses a fleet of satellites to provide high-speed broadband service in markets around the globe. It wasn't clear how SpaceX got the terminals into Ukraine.

"I wish I could say more," Mr. Musk told trade publication SpaceNews. "But, yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Strange that SpaceX can do this.

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Elon Musk to Ukraine, After SpaceX Terminals Arrive: 'You Are Most Welcome' - The Wall Street Journal

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in an email exchange with CNBC on Tuesday, accused President Joe Biden of ignoring his electric vehicle company in favor of paying more attention to legacy auto makers.

But he also sought to assure White House officials who are concerned that he would do or say something embarrassing if he were invited to speak at a White House event.

"They have nothing to worry about," Musk said. "I would do the right thing."

Musk's comments came after CNBC contacted him regarding fresh reporting that Biden and the White House have no immediate plans to invite Musk to potential upcoming meetings with corporate leaders. The people who spoke to CNBC about how the White House regards Musk declined to be named in order to speak freely about private conversations.

Joe Biden, left, and Elon Musk

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters; Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"The notion of a feud is not quite right. Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla at every turn and falsely stated to the public that GM leads the electric car industry, when in fact Tesla produced over 300,000 electric vehicles last quarter and GM produced 26," Musk said in the email.

Tesla announced in January that it produced and delivered over 300,000 vehicles globally in the fourth quarter. General Motors reported U.S. sales of 26 electric vehicles, including one Hummer pickup and 25 Bolt EV models during the fourth quarter.

GM recently announced it was extending its production halt of their Chevrolet Bolt EV until early April but it plans to resume retail sales soon. The company has said that it plans to spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.

For the first time in his presidency, Biden in February acknowledged Tesla'sstatus as the nation's largest producer of electric vehicles.

Musk and the White House have been at odds since the start of the Biden administration as the president pushes for infrastructure reform and tries to encourage vehicle companies to go green.

GM CEO Mary Barra said, standing next to Biden in January, said the company wants to invest $7 billion into Michigan to "further our EV manufacturing." GM is headquartered in Detroit. Musk at the time responded to Barra and Biden's comments by tweeting, "Starts with a T, Ends with an A, ESL in the middle."

"It got to the point, hilariously, where no one in the administration was even allowed to say the word 'Tesla'! The public outrage and media pressure about that statement forced him to admit that Tesla does in fact lead the EV industry. I wouldn't exactly call that 'praise,'" Musk said in the Tuesday email.

A White House spokesperson praised Tesla on Tuesday in an email to CNBC: "Tesla has done extraordinary things for electric vehicles and that's a big part of why the whole industry now knows EVs are the future."

The White House representative also took aim at Musk. "Tesla also benefited greatly from past EV tax credits, but unfortunately, their CEO has suggested an opposition to new EV tax credits," the representative said.

Musk has also mocked Biden on occasion. Once he said Biden was "still sleeping," effectively mirroring former President Donald Trump's "Sleepy Joe" insults.

Some in the administration have privately called Musk names, such as "a--hole," for what he has said about Biden, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

"I have nothing against Biden otherwise, apart from general concern about more deficit spending, which would apply to any president, and actively supported the Obama-Biden election," Musk told CNBC on Tuesday.

Data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows Musk contributed just over $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee during the 2012 election cycle when former President Barack Obama and then Vice President Biden were fighting Republican candidate Mitt Romney for reelection. He also gave over $2,500 directly to Obama's presidential campaign that cycle.

Musk did not give to Biden's campaign when he ran for president in 2020. He voiced support for businessman and Democratic candidate Andrew Yang instead. He recently contributed to the Republican National Committee.

Musk, who also runs space exploration company SpaceX, has a net worth of over $220 billion, according to Forbes.

Biden and senior White House officials have privately signaled to their allies that they have no immediate plans to invite Musk to any upcoming meetings with senior executives, according to people familiar with the matter. These people declined to be named in order to speak freely about private conversations.

Musk has berated the president on Twitter, including as recently as late January after Biden met with General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley in a briefing with other corporate leaders to discuss the president's Build Back Better initiative, which has stalled in Congress. Musk, in a tweet, called Biden a "damp sock puppet in human form."

When asked at the time by CNBC about Musk's absence, Brian Deese, Biden's top economic advisor, said: "When it comes to electric vehicles, we want the United States to be the place where the electric vehicle revolution is driven. And where we gain more of the global export share and we're creating more good jobs here in America. So that's not not about any one individual company."

Behind the scenes, the president and his team are aggravated with Musk's criticism, according to more than half a dozen people familiar with the matter.

Biden's advisors have privately pushed back against inviting Musk to future industry events, as they are concerned the outspoken executive will say something that could embarrass the president or the administration, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

When asked about this, Musk first replied with an email featuring two "roll on the floor laughing" emojis. Then he followed up by saying the White House shouldn't worry about him doing anything outlandish.

A person close to the president told CNBC that there was a push to bring Musk to the table to discuss the president's $1 trillion infrastructure package since the executive had founded a tunnel-digging firm called the Boring Company.

Some in the White House, including climate advisor Ali Zaid, believe only unionized car companies, such as GM and Ford, should be meeting with Biden and senior administration officials, some of these people explained.

The White House pushed back on this characterization.

"Ali Zaidi has meteveryautomaker at least once including Tesla, several many times. President Biden is focused on creating good union jobs across the country and believes firmly that every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to bargain collectively with their employer," the spokesperson said.

Tesla is not unionized and Musk has taken on the United Auto Workers union through his Twitter account. The UAW endorsed Biden for president during the previous election fight.

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Elon Musk accuses Biden of ignoring Tesla, but says he would 'do the right thing' if invited to White House - CNBC

Elon Musk said that Tesla is working to make Steams library of video games work on its onboard vehicle computer.

Tesla has been working to expand its presence in the video game space.

As we previously reported, Tesla has a team of software engineers working on video games in Seattle, and they recentlystarted building a similar team in Austin.

The automaker has been building a video game platform calledTesla Arcadeinside its vehicles, and it has been working with video game studios to port games to it.

Right now, it is mainly to create some added value to its ownership experience, but Tesla might have bigger plans for gaming inside its vehicles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been indicating recently that he believes entertainment will be critical when cars drive themselves, which he thinks Tesla can achieve later this year.

In preparation for that, the automaker has beenreleasing more video gamesin its Tesla Arcade, and it has indicated that it might turn it into a business.

We have seen indications thatTesla plans to offer paid packages of different video gamesinside its vehicles, which would start to get into the same business as Valves Steam, the Playstation Store, or the Xbox Live store.

Now Musk announced on Twitter today that Tesla is working to make Steams library of games work directly on Teslas software instead of porting specific games:

Were working through the general case of making Steam games work on a Tesla vs specific titles. Former is obviously where we should be long-term.

In the Twitter thread, Musk reiterated his goal to make Cyberpunk, a demanding game graphic-wise, work on the upcoming Cybertruck.

Tesla has recently deployed a new entertainment computer in the Model S and Model X that is geared toward video games.

With the unveiling of new Model S and Model X, Tesla has announced a new gaming computer inside the vehicles:

Up to 10 teraflops of processing power enables in-car gaming on-par with todays newest consoles via Tesla Arcade. Wireless controller compatibility allows gaming from any seat.

A known chip leaker, Patrick Schur posted adiagramof Teslas new gaming computer powered by the AMD Navi 23 GPU:

The system is integrated and connects directly to two touchscreens inside the Model S and Model X to play games, watch entertainment, and perform some other functions:

CEO Elon Musk also revealed that the new computer has more storage space to be able to handle more games on the platform at the same time.

The websitevideocardzcompared the specs with existing consoles from the latest generation showing that it does indeed match up well based on the specs available:

Tesla is expected to leverage this new hardware to expand its in-car video gaming experience.

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Elon Musk: Tesla is working to make Steam video games work in its vehicles - Electrek