Elon Musk’s Starlink inks new contract with FAA days after he laid off FAA staff
Elon Musk’s Starlink inked a new contract with the Federal Aviation Administration days after DOGE laid off hundreds of FAA staffers as part of its government savings efforts.
Since Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency began dismantling the U.S. government, many have questioned why his billions in government contracts haven’t been touched. After all, the department has been looking for savings in every department, even if it means cutting vital services for Americans and people around the world. One of its first moves was dismantling USAID, risking lives and millions in food waste by freezing all its funding overnight. More recently, it has moved onto government purges, laying off thousands of federal workers across the government, leaving national parks understaffed, cutting crucial FAA defense workers, and compromising CIA agents and positions.
Hundreds of FAA staff were among the layoffs. Since Trump and Musk entered office, the U.S. has been facing a string of aviation accidents and disasters, including the deadly crash in Washington that claimed 67 lives. Terminated FAA employees and their union have also warned that Trump is lying about not cutting any employees involved in safety functions. While the FAA allegedly can’t afford to employ crucial defense workers anymore, it can interestingly afford a new contract with Musk.
Elon Musk’s Starlink gets new contract with FAA
As CNN reported, one of Musk’s companies has received yet another government contract. The FAA recently entered into an agreement with Musk’s Starlink, which his SpaceX company owns. Under the contract, the FAA will upgrade its information technology networks to Musk’s Starlink internet system. On February 24, the FAA issued a statement that it was currently testing Starlink terminals to address “telecommunications connections” issues. It alleges that the usage of Starlink has been taken into consideration since the prior administration. According to Bloomberg, the FAA is expected to deploy 4,000 Starlink terminals within 12 – 18 months.
The FAA is indeed in need of a communication system upgrade. However, its contract with the FAA raises concerns about conflicts of interest given Musk’s government role. It’s also strange because the FAA already had a $2 billion contract with Verizon that was supposed to enact this upgrade. So far, little is known about how the Starlink contract will impact the Verizon contract or why the FAA went with Starlink instead of Verizon. Musk is the only one who has commented on Verizon, as he vaguely claimed on X that Verizon’s system was “not working.”
Naturally, the contract raises further concerns about Musk’s conflicts of interest. He is the CEO of multiple companies, many of which have been successful because of the federal government’s investment. Its billion-dollar contracts with companies like Tesla and SpaceX are part of the reason Musk has become the richest man in the world. Now, he’s a “senior advisor” to Trump and the head of DOGE, who has been given free rein to cut whatever he sees as “waste” across the federal government. When asked about his many conflicts of interest, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration trusts Musk to self-police on conflicts of interest. There are still natural concerns over how Musk continues to fill his pockets and benefit from government spending while threatening to slash programs for working-class and low-income Americans.
Now, it’s implied that the FAA can afford a contract with Starlink, potentially in addition to its $2 billion contract with Verizon. However, it couldn’t afford to employ FAA staff, including those working on vital defense projects for national security.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
