Musk says SpaceX may continue to support satellite service in Ukraine

New York: In a tweet posted on Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk hinted that his rocket business SpaceX would continue to support Ukraine's satellite-based Starlink internet service. However, the irascible Tesla CEO's tone and words also gave rise to the suspicion that he was merely being sarcastic.

Musk frequently uses humour and insults in his tweets, and he also occasionally veers off course. For example, a recent string of tweets implied that one of his businesses had started selling its own line of fragrances. If SpaceX has formed future plans for operations in Ukraine, it is unclear at this time.

Senior American officials acknowledged on Friday that Musk had formally requested that the Defense Department assume responsibility for funding the service that Starlink offers in Ukraine, Associated Press reported.

Since the beginning of the country's defence against Russia's invasion in February, Starlink, which offers broadband internet connectivity utilising more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites, has supplied essential battlefield communications for Ukrainian military troops.

"The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer USD, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," Musk tweeted Saturday.