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SpaceX Flying High Despite European Fury at Musk's Political Meddling
The Straits Times
|January 09, 2025
Trump backing and Europe's tech weakness are fueling tech tycoon's attacks.
Mr Elon Musk has crossed a line with his latest attacks on the UK government, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says. Are there any lines left? Mr Musk has said that only the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can save Germany in an election year. He has said that Italian judges "need to go" for blocking a migration plan. And he has turned on Brexiteer pal Nigel Farage for not allying with anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson.
The outrage is building: French President Emmanuel Macron, without naming Mr Musk, fumed on Monday that the billionaire was messing with democracy in the name of a "reactionary international".
And yet, for all the furore, Europe is looking to buy even more of what Mr Musk is selling. Italy is in talks to sign a €1.5 billion (S$2.1 billion) government contract with SpaceX for secure telecommunications, according to Bloomberg News. In France, for all of Mr Macron's anger, the new government is eyeing the deployment of hundreds of SpaceX's Starlink terminals in cyclone-hit Mayotte.
However much one might disagree with Mr Musk's screeds and his long-form defence of AfD was very short on detail of the party's policies and scandals - it seems to be doing no harm to his US$437.5 billion (S$598 billion) fortune.
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