by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:05 AM ET, Wed February 26, 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be using Musk’s Starlink internet system to upgrade its IT networks that manage US airspace, raising questions about Musk’s conflict of interest as he continues cutting jobs at the FAA and other administrations that have, prior to this year, been investigating him and his companies.
The contract’s details haven’t been immediately reported, according to CNN, though there are indications the FAA would use 4,000 Starlink terminals that will be deployed over the next year or so. The FAA is testing Starlink at two sites in Alaska in places where weather has made traditional systems unreliable.
Starlink is the satellite internet system created by Musk’s SpaceX. Musk is currently the face of the unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency,” and has been slashing jobs and accessing classified information from a variety of government administrations, including the Treasury and the FAA, without proper authority.
Over 20 civil service employees from the U.S. Digital Service resigned this week instead of helping him “dismantle critical public services,” after DOGE absorbed the bureau in an effort to seemingly legitimize the department without Congressional approval, which is required by law to create new governmental bodies.
Earlier this month, federal employees with the FAA, including air traffic controllers, were given letters from DOGE urging them to resign. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy was quick to refute this, stating that air traffic controllers or those in positions ensuring safety would not be fired.
The nation is still suffering critical air traffic controller shortages. And following a succession of airplane safety incidents, experts were quick to sound the alarm.
Verizon currently has a 15-year contract with the FAA to modernize its technology, which Musk has been quick to denigrate this week on his platform, X (formerly Twitter). It’s unclear if the FAA will break with this contract in favor of Starlink.
“Verizon is bringing the nation’s most reliable network to the FAA at a time when critical infrastructure and technology enhancements are needed most,” Verizon spokesman Rich Young said in a statement to CNN. “We’re at the beginning of a 15-year contract with the FAA that will help the agency modernize its technology. Protecting Americans who rely on a safe, secure and functioning air traffic control system is more important than ever, and our enhancements will help make that happen.”
It seems Musk’s conflicts of interest continue to grow. Earlier this month, the Associated Press warned that Musk’s involvement in firing government workers could benefit him directly by eliminating the people investigating his companies for bad practices, like the Justice Department criminal probe investigating the truth of Tesla’s self-driving abilities, crash investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or National Labor Relations Board investigations into unfair labor practices.
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