Elon Musk slams ‘false news reports’ that SpaceX is selling Starlink to Russia

Musk cleared the air in a post on X after multiple media outlets reported on the falsity.

"A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia. This is categorically false. To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia," wrote Musk.

Outlets that have reported on the alleged false claims include Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, Fox Business, Politico, Newsweek, and others.

The claims were made after Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian defence ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence, released a statement that asserted Russian occupiers in Ukraine had taken over some Starlink terminals and are using them for communications.

"Cases of the Russian occupiers' use of the given devices have been registered. It is beginning to take on a systemic nature," said Yusov.

Ukraine's intelligence agency said that it confirmed Russia's use of Starlink after intercepting an exchange between two Russian soldiers, according to Reuters.

SpaceX denied the claim in a statement to Reuters and Elon Musk denied the claim once again.

An individual on X responded to Musk asserting that the claims were false and questioned: "Best of our knowledge” - would Starlink not know if a terminal was activated in Russia?"

Musk responded and said: "Starlink satellites will not close the link in Russia."

The allegations follow the release of journalist Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The interview, which received both praise from curious minds and significant backlash from anti-Putin critics, has garnered more than 192 million views since it was published to Elon Musk's X on Thursday.