Billionaire Elon Musk calls the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) «criminal» and calls for its disbandment. However, his company SpaceX received funds from USAID to supply Starlink terminals to Ukraine. The agency itself investigated the effectiveness of this assistance, but Donald Trump put its activities on hold.
Billionaire Elon Musk calls the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) «criminal» and calls for its disbandment. However, his company SpaceX received funds from USAID to supply Starlink terminals to Ukraine. The agency itself investigated the effectiveness of this assistance, but Donald Trump put its activities on hold.
Over the past four years, the U.S. government’s humanitarian arm has spent $1 million on SpaceX’s Starlink terminals, federal contract records show, shipping them to Zimbabwe and South Africa, Elon Musk’s birthplace, Forbes reports.
However, USAID’s largest collaboration with SpaceX was the project to supply «free» Starlink terminals to Ukraine, which began after the full-scale Russian invasion. Together, they sent 5,000 Starlink terminals worth about $3 million. It is noted that the Agency purchased 1,333 terminals, while SpaceX donated 3,667 terminals and provided free internet service.
«The main factor in Ukraine not being taken over by Russia is the support for Starlink, which I provided, risking a cyber and physical attack by the Russian military on SpaceX… Starlink is the foundation of Ukrainian military communications on the front lines, because everything else was blown up or jammed by Russia,» Musk boasted in November 2024.
Last May, the USAID Office of Inspector General also announced that it was launching an «audit» to understand how Ukraine used these Starlink terminals and how USAID monitored their use.
Since Elon Musk came to power, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been attacking USAID. Musk has called the agency «evil» and a «criminal organization,» although the fact that USAID investigated Starlink’s activities may indicate ulterior motives, writes Gizmodo. It is currently unclear what the status of the investigation into the Starlink transfer is.
Musk recently announced that his DOGE had received permission to close down USAID. Later, Trump called on his social media to close down USAID due to «unprecedented» levels of corruption. «Yes, Mr. President!» Elon Musk responded. CNN notes that USAID’s staff could be reduced from 10,000 employees to a few hundred.
Over the weekend, it was reported that DOGE employees attempted to infiltrate USAID offices to access materials, including classified information, and hundreds of employees were fired or placed on leave.
At the same time, the Washington Post reports that officials from six federal agencies have expressed concern that Elon Musk’s activities are illegal.
Earlier, pro-Ukrainian X (Twitter) users started a trend with AI-generated images mocking a Russian propaganda hoax about USAID funds being allocated to celebrities meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. American actor Ben Stiller immediately denied the claim, but that didn’t stop billionaire Elon Musk from spreading the hoax to his multi-million audience.
