Topline
Elon Musk’s assets in the Middle East could soon be under threat of attack by Iran’s Military, state media reported Thursday, including Starlink and X operations in Arab countries and Israel.
Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX,on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
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Key Facts
The use of Starlink infrastructure and the X platform by the U.S. and Israeli military, as well as Musk’s alleged cooperation with the U.S. government, is enough justification to add his assets to a military target bank, the state-run Fars News Agency reported Thursday.
An unnamed source cited by Fars claimed the U.S. military used Musk-linked companies to carry out war crimes, including attacks on water infrastructure in southern Iran this week.
The source said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to strike all Musk-affiliated facilities in the region, including Starlink ground stations in Qatar, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Oman, as well as SpaceX partners, Fars reported.
Key background
Musk’s company SpaceX has become an increasingly important contractor for the U.S. military and intelligence community through its Starshield program. Starshield is a version of the Starlink satellite network specifically designed for government, intelligence and defense customers, with a specific focus on Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Militaries have increasingly turned to Starlink since Ukraine’s widespread use of the network after Russia’s 2022 invasion, according to Reuters, and the U.S. has used the Starlink network to guide kamikaze drones in its ongoing war with Iran.
BIG NUMBER
$2.29 billion. That’s the value of the most recent contract awarded to SpaceX by the U.S. government. The Space Force, part of the U.S. Armed Forces, awarded the contract in May to build a network of low Earth orbit satellites intended to function as a military internet in space.
FORBES VALUATION
Musk, by far the world’s richest man, is worth an estimated $781.7 billion as of Thursday. SpaceX is set to go public on Friday at a valuation between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion, which will make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Trump’s next move in Iran. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would attack Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” he wrote on Truth Social Thursday, threatening to also take over Kharg Island, major infrastructure and Iran’s oil and gas markets.