Musk’s FAA Power Grab: Starlink Contract Lands Amid Mass Firings
Elon Musk is at it again—this time, slashing critical FAA jobs while conveniently landing a lucrative contract for his own company, SpaceX.
Just days after Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (it’s not a federal department) gutted the Federal Aviation Administration—eliminating key safety personnel—his Starlink satellite internet system magically won a contract to help manage U.S. airspace.
A conflict of interest? That’s putting it lightly.
According to Bloomberg, the billionaire personally approved shipping 4,000 Starlink terminals to the FAA, with one already being tested in Atlantic City and two more in Alaska.
Meanwhile, a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon, previously tasked with keeping the airspace safe, is now hanging by a thread.
Musk, ever the master of making his own rules, declared on X that “The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.”
Naturally, he provided zero evidence.
But what’s more concerning is that he’s not just taking over FAA operations—he’s also infiltrating it.
As CNN notes, the full value of the SpaceX deal hasn’t been disclosed, but it comes as Musk guts the FAA while conveniently installing his own SpaceX employees within the agency.
This is the same FAA that fined SpaceX for violating launch license requirements and ordered an investigation after a Starship rocket’s “rapid unscheduled disassembly” (read: explosion).
Now, Musk is holding the scalpel, trimming away anyone who might stand in his way.
If this all sounds like a dystopian corporate coup, it’s because it is.
One source told Rolling Stone, “Every time we try to figure out why this or that was done, the answers you get from the Trump and Musk guys usually amount to: Because we can. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Another pointed out, “Firing people that do this sort of work is not conducive to preventing accidents… when you lay off people that investigate these things and prevent these things, it’s only a matter of time.”
The White House, ever the enabler, assures us that Musk will excuse himself from any conflicts of interest. But let’s be real: Musk isn’t excusing himself—he’s cashing in.
Source: Rolling Stone