Donald Trump will compensate billionaire Elon Musk for the losses he suffered during his collaboration with the president. The US president intends to thank his friend by rewarding him with billions of dollars in government contracts.
Fortune magazine reports that SpaceX now has $22 billion in contracts with the US government. According to the Washington Post, Musk’s companies also benefit from $38 billion in government subsidies, loans, and tax breaks. And this is just the beginning.
In the Pentagon, SpaceX rockets are seen as a means of quickly delivering military cargo worldwide.
The Trump administration is using Starlink satellite internet to expand broadband access. According to the New York Times, this contract is valued at $45 billion. The US Department of Commerce also wants to use Starlink as part of a rural development initiative.
SpaceX has submitted bids to the Pentagon to build new launch pads for rockets and increase the frequency of launches from state spaceports in Florida and California.
As reported by the New York Times, one of the requests has already been approved. The annual Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral will double to 120.
Now, Musk is pressuring NASA to focus on Mars. He wants to win new government contracts to send people to a distant planet for the first time in history.
