SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has claimed that the US military misused Starlink, thereby breaching the agreement. He, however, disputed media reports about the incident.
Per a report by Reuters, SpaceX has requested that the Pentagon shell out $25,000 per month per kamikaze to use Starshield for high-speed satellite connectivity. This was $20,000 more than the military was paying per connection. While the Pentagon initially pushed back, it eventually agreed to the price hike.
Musk, however, has accused Reuters of publishing false reports. The world’s richest man then added that the US military improperly used Starlink. “Reuters article is false. They made improper use of the Starlink civilian system for military purposes. Direct violation of terms of service.”
Reuters article is false.
They made improper use of the Starlink civilian system for military purposes. Direct violation of terms of service.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 26, 2026
It would seem that the military used the regular Starlink instead of Starshield, which SpaceX developed for government clients and is controlled by the government. SpaceX explicitly bans using Starlink to power weapons and shuts down any terminal found to be in breach of the agreement.
Musk, however, revealed the root of the contract breach in another X post, “There is a US government arm of SpaceX called Starshield, which has a different set of satellites than Starlink, which is for civilian use. The company that makes the suicide drones incorrectly used the civilian system, instead of the Starshield.” This would agree with Reuters’ report that the drones in question are configured to connect to both Starlink and Starshield.
Despite the misunderstanding, Reuters reported that the Pentagon is considering paying for an additional 3,500 Starshield subscriptions. The new deal will reportedly add hundreds of millions of dollars to SpaceX’s coffers annually.
SpaceX has landed a $2.29 billion contract to develop a secure global satellite data network for the US Space Force.
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