Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
Elon Musk on Tuesday said that Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink for maritime and aviation use, expanding the satellite internet system’s already massive global reach.
“I’d also like to thank the Kingdom for approving Starlink for maritime and aviation use,” Musk said at the Saudi-US Investment Forum to raucous applause.
Starlink, which is owned and operated by Musk’s company SpaceX, has rapidly grown in the past few years. Its traffic tripled in 2024 and it’s available in more than 125 countries, according to the company. The satellite internet service has been crucial to the war in Ukraine and seeks to expand to an ever-growing list of nations. It’s the biggest internet satellite constellation to date, though Amazon is working on a competitor.
Musk’s comments come as President Donald Trump embarks on the first overseas tour of his second term, flanked by some of America’s most prominent private sector leaders. Trump has said he wants to secure $1 trillion worth of investments during his trip to the Middle East, and deals have already started rolling in.
The trip hasn’t been free of controversy — the president’s stated intention to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar, for example, has legal experts and bipartisan politicians alike concerned.
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