The Starlink internet service operated by Musk's company was given to the Ukrainians shortly after Russia invaded their country.
On Friday, the world's richest man, Mr. Musk, said his company couldn't "indefinitely" fund the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian Army.
CNN reported that Mr. Musk wrote a letter to the Pentagon asking it to take over the funding of Starlink. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, about 20,000 Starlink terminals have been delivered to the country. Mr Musk talked about the difficulty of funding the service.
He wrote that SpaceX is not asking to recover past expenses, but also can't fund the existing system indefinitely.
The situation, which spurred an outcry for how it might help the Ukrainians, was another controversy fomented by Mr. Musk, who has become an unlikely provocateur in international geopolitics. A will-he-won't-he deal to buy the social media service Twitter is one of the many scandals the billionaire is involved in.
Last week, Mr. Musk was rebuked by Ukrainian officials for his proposal to end the war. In an interview with The Financial Times, he said that tensions between China and Taiwan could be solved by Beijing taking control of Taiwan.
Xiaomeng Lu is a director with the Eurasia Group, a political consulting and research group. The people ofUkraine are playing with fire.
The two companies did not respond to questions.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Mr. Musk helped the country survive the most critical moments of war.
The Starlink service will provide internet access to people and businesses, according to Mr. Musk. Starlink is offered in 40 countries. The fees for the service in the US are between $100 and $500 a month. Because the service is provided by thousands of satellites that can't be easily destroyed in space, it's harder to disrupt than traditional internet services.
Mykhailo Fedorov, the deputy prime minister of the Ukranian government, sent a message to Mr. Musk in February. If Russia damaged the country's main telecommunications infrastructure, Mr. Fedorov asked for help getting Starlink terminals.
A shipment of Starlink equipment arrived in Ukranian two days later. Mr. Zelensky said the service would help keep in touch with people in cities under attack.
According to a document shared with The New York Times, at least three Western governments and other allies are paying for the terminals that are being used in Ukraine. According to a letter that the army sent to SpaceX, about 4,000 of the terminals are used by the Ukrainian army. The service's monthly fees have been nixed by Mr. Musk.
Mr. Musk made it clear that his help would be limited. He said that he wouldn't use Starlink to block Russian state media outlets that spread misinformation about the war in Ukraine.
Mr. Musk said last week that the operation had cost his company $80 million. He said that the project's burn was around $20 million a month.
He said we have to create, launch, maintain and replenish satellites. It has been necessary to defend against cyberattacks and jamming.
A withdrawal of Starlink would be a blow to the Ukrainian Army, which has depended on the equipment for internet access, especially since the Russian military is able to jam communications and leave swaths of Ukrainian territory without power. Ukrainian troops say Russians have been unable to hack Starlink, which they use for everything from calling in support to sending loved ones home.
The Starlink terminal has an antenna that can be powered by car batteries. The soldiers on the front were able to camouflage the device by digging it into the ground so they wouldn't be hit.
In July, a Ukrainian general wrote a letter to Mr. Musk asking for more Starlink terminals.
According to a letter shared with The Times, Starlink terminals have the potential to be the primary infrastructure layer underlying the majority of communication along the chain of command. Units have not been received by the army.
In September, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive and took control of territory that was previously occupied by Russia. Three people with knowledge of the matter said that the Starlink service was lost by the Ukrainian army. One of them said that the service had been restored.
The Russian delegation to the United Nations suggested that Starlink could become a military target. Mr Musk said that Starlink was only for peaceful use.
Mr. Musk started to promote his peace plan. He called for new referendums in Russian-occupied Ukranian that would allow residents to decide who should control the territories. He wanted to know if the will of the people in occupied areas should decide if they're part of Ukraine or Russia.
Mr. Zelensky asked which one he liked more, one who supported Ukraine or one who supported Russia.
Mr. Musk believes that the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and the world.
Mr. Musk received praise from the Kremlin.
A Kremlin spokesman said that it was positive that Musk was looking for a peaceful settlement. People have voiced their opinions and there is nothing else to do.
Pentagon officials said on Friday that there had been discussions about how to help the Ukrainian military. The possibility of the Pentagon footing the bill for the Starlink service in Ukraine was not out of the question according to one official.
The Pentagon continues to work with industry to explore solutions forUkraine's armed forces as they repel Russia's brutal and unprovoked aggression. At this time, we don't have anything else to add.
Ms. Lu said that because of Mr. Musk's control of Starlink, it was likely that Ukraine had few options other than to maintain a friendly relationship with him. Mr. Musk is the majority shareholder of a private company.
Even if they don't like the situation, they have to deal with it because of their dependence on technology.
The reporting was done by Adam Satariano, Michael Schwirtz, and Thomas Gibbons-Neff.
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