Trump denies White House or Musk ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine

what happened

US President Donald Trump on Friday rejected the idea that either he or SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered limits on Starlink access for Ukraine's armed forces. According to Stocktwits, reporters in Washington asked Trump who was behind the pause, and he said he did not know who exactly made the call, but that it was not him and, in his view, not Musk.

Accounts still conflict. Reuters, citing two US officials, reported that the order came from the White House, while The Telegraph wrote that Musk had approached Trump with the idea of slowing Starlink in Ukraine. Musk earlier wrote on X that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the service was not fully shut off but slowed, which hampered Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones and support frontline logistics.

SpaceX shares (SPCX) fell nearly 2% in the regular session on Friday and dropped a further 0.4% after hours. According to Stocktwits, retail sentiment at the time of writing was bearish, and the stock is down 3% year to date.

why it matters

For markets, the story shows how government decisions can directly affect the business of publicly traded space companies. Investors in SPCX are likely to focus on the company's reliance on government contracts and Washington's stance. Tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy over Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure add uncertainty, but the broader market is barely involved in this story.

market impact

SPCX: political risk around SpaceX's government contracts weighs on the stock

tags

instruments