In the days after Hurricane Helen left widespread destruction in the southeastern United States, former President Donald J. Trump called tech billionaire Elon Musk a member of Musk’s personal team to restore internet service. He praised the project, calling it a great effort and a major project that went beyond the government. Rural areas were hit hard.
The reality is more complicated. Starlink, the satellite service operated by Musk’s company SpaceX, is providing hundreds of free devices and free internet service to civilians in areas affected by the storm, but the federal government is also helping with recovery efforts. provides Starlink service.
The situation reflects the strange position Musk occupies in American politics. He is a billionaire whose company has contracts to provide critical services to the U.S. government. He owns a wide range of social media platforms and frequently criticizes the inefficiency of the federal government. And he has been a vocal and active supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign.
It also reflects the inevitable politicization of natural disasters on the eve of close elections.
On Monday afternoon, while visiting the southern Georgia city of Valdosta, which was hit hard by the storm, Trump said North Carolina lacks internet connectivity and basic communications infrastructure.
“I just talked to Elon,” Trump said. “We want to connect Starlink because they’re not communicating at all. We know Elon will get through it,” he added. We’ll try to get Link on there as soon as possible,” he added.
At a campaign event in Milwaukee the next day, Trump once again reflected on the damage and communications failures in parts of North Carolina and praised Musk’s swift response.
When Trump’s remarks were first reported, White House press secretary Andrew Bates corrected the record. “This is already happening,” Bates wrote on social media, linking to a Federal Emergency Management Agency news release from Saturday outlining emergency measures authorized by the Biden administration.
According to the release, 40 Starlink systems are already available for emergency responder communications, and an additional 140 are on the way. Starlink comes in the form of a small terminal, about the size of a pizza box, that connects to low-orbit satellites. A FEMA spokesperson said they have been used during natural disasters in the United States in recent years. They were also vital to the Ukrainian military during the invasion of Russia.
Representatives for Musk, the Trump campaign and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.
“Since the Hurricane Helen disaster, SpaceX has been sending as many Starlink terminals as possible to help communities in need,” Musk wrote on his platform X late Monday night. He added that earlier in the day, Trump “warned me about additional people in North Carolina who would need Starlink internet.”
“We will send them the terminal soon,” he wrote.
Since then, Musk has increased his posts, including from Starlink’s official X account, detailing efforts by private individuals and organizations to provide Starlink systems to states. On Wednesday, Ivanka Trump posted on social media that she toured the damage in western North Carolina with relief organizations who also distributed more than 300 free Starlinks. (“Thank you, Elon!”)
Donated devices may be provided free of charge, but free internet service is temporary. Starlink said on its website that it will provide service to devices in affected areas for 30 days before standard residential subscription fees are charged.
As of Wednesday morning, FEMA had delivered 67 Starlink systems to North Carolina, including three to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and four to “state-determined critical lifeline locations.” ,” said FEMA spokeswoman Jaclyn Rothenberg.
Rosenberg said the agency has ordered hundreds more Starlink units.
Musk has not addressed the federal government’s role in providing Starlink services on social media, with one important exception.
In a post on Wednesday, Musk said the Federal Communications Commission had previously “unlawfully rescinded an award to SpaceX that would have provided Starlink kits that would have probably saved lives in North Carolina.” ”
However, Musk’s post is misleading. The FCC had a two-part approval process for local grants. SpaceX won the first bid, but after further consideration SpaceX decided not to bid in 2022, according to an FCC spokesperson.
The station noted that Starlink struggled to meet basic upload and download speeds and that rural subscribers would have had to pay an upfront fee of $600 per dish at the time. I discovered it. The FCC also said it was experiencing obstacles to obtaining further information from SpaceX.
“In this case, the agency denied public funding not only to Starlink, but to more than a dozen companies that did not meet program requirements,” the spokesperson said. The agency supports that decision, he added.
Kirsten Grind contributed reporting.
