Business Insider3 hours ago·4 min read·medium

The crown jewel in Elon Musk's empire

✦AI Summary

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network has become a critical global utility, serving as a vital revenue driver for SpaceX and a source of geopolitical influence. Despite controversies surrounding Musk's other ventures, Starlink's indispensability in remote and conflict-ridden areas provides him with significant political leverage.

Why it matters

Starlink's dominance in satellite internet creates a unique intersection of private corporate power and global infrastructure, raising questions about the influence of a single individual over international communications.

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Finn Gomez/Getty Images; Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI Luke Hartley realized how important Elon Musk's Starlink was to him when it fell overboard. Two weeks into his voyage across the Pacific in October 2023, Hartley's sailboat, Songbird, was hit by an intense squall that knocked the Starlink dish balanced on the front of the boat over the side. It was a major blow for the music teacher turned sailing influencer, who tells me he made far more money posting about his three-year voyage around the world on TikTok via Starlink than he ever had in the US education system. Without satellite internet, he had no way to upload the videos that were funding his voyage, check weather forecasts, or call his family. From the remote Pacific to the front lines of Ukraine, Starlink's network of orbital internet satellites has become indispensable to 13 million people in more than 167 countries.

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