this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025
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Summary

The FAA is reportedly set to cancel a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to modernize air traffic control communications and instead award it to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Musk has publicly criticized Verizon’s system as failing, though without evidence. SpaceX employees have been embedded within the FAA, and some now have agency email addresses.

The move raises concerns about favoritism and conflicts of interest, especially as Musk’s companies have received $38 billion in government funding.

The contract transfer has not followed standard procedures, prompting resistance from senior FAA officials.

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[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 177 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Aha! Trump uncovers corruption within DOGE itself!

[–] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 109 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, that seems fine. Just removing a 15 year, 2+ Billion dollar contract Verizon just won in 2023, with a no-bid contract from the guy in the officially unofficial roll of gutting the US government.

Drain the swamp! /s

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 year ago

This is NOT at all Corruption and in fact the United States Of American has NO Corruption at all and is the CLEANEST country in the World.

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 98 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Musk doesn't care anymore if he tanks Tesla, as long as he's getting government handouts.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Tesla’s shareholders might though.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

Good. Then the shareholders can sue and make things more difficult for everyone involved.

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[–] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 10 points 1 year ago

He doesn't need the shares to be sky high if he can get the board to give him his giant payout.

Tesla’s law firm drafts Delaware bill that could salvage Musk pay package

The proposed legislation, drafted by Richards, Layton & Finger, or RLF, would amend Delaware General Corporation Law, and if adopted, could pave the way for the reinstatement of Musk’s 2018 CEO pay package at Tesla, worth tens of billions of dollars in options.

[–] KY13KR385@lemmy.world 77 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Aaaannddd there it is… Certainly no conflicts of interest /s

[–] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

The concept of a conflict of interest only matters if American voters care , and they don't.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 69 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Some might think this is corruption, but I assure you, this was the best offer we could find, because all the others got lost somehow?

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sounds like a real lack of efficiency

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 year ago

It's super efficient to lose the papers of all but one applicant. Really speeds up those decision times.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

Nonono, Musk has already helped us with that. We are saving hundreds of dollars on wages, and only very few planes have crashed.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 58 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

So

  • replace wires with satellite
  • which can fail or be slow
  • just so musk can shut it off at a whim

This is gonna be great, you guys.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 year ago

I came here to say this. This doesn't look like replacing the air controller work, it's about the comm network. And it's making it dependent on fucking micro satellites, holy dumb shovel buckets.

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it is in fact a terrible idea.

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[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 58 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I hope Verizon sues Musk, Starlink, and the DOGE into oblivion. Even if they don’t have a chance of winning, they should be able to make it more difficult to do anything. Airlines should sue too due to the preventable crashes that occurred recently. In fact, I hope every company affected by DOGE’s policies sues.

They might not be able to get a fair trial, but they could potentially bog the system down in red tape.

Give ‘em Hell!

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hoisted by their own petard, it seems. I'm with you. I hope they fight, but they also helped create this situation (like many corporations).

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/verizon-communications/summary?id=D000000079

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don’t doubt it at all, but as the passage goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Or as I like to say: baby steps.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

Nah, the enemy of my enemy is the enemy of my enemy, nothing more, nothing less.

But as a great man once said, "Let them fight."

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[–] Maxxie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Im in my 30s and often wonder, has the world always been this infuriating? Were we going apeshit watching representatives openly steal our future in 2005? 1995?

Were dudes in 1955 Paris tearing their hair our how the president's third cousin is getting a contract to rebuild the entire railway system on the merit of fuck all?

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

Yep. Never flying again.

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

This is handing the button that controls your life over to elon... He had them strategically turn off Ukraine's internet at a critical moment to benefit putin... What do you think he's going to do when Jasmine Crockett's plane in on final approach to land back in her district after having the "fuck off, elon" press conference?

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Oh, THERE it is. This is why Elump has allowed so many air traffic control issues recently. To set the stage for this bullshit.

Sorry, I’m kinda slow sometimes.

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[–] Bamboodpanda@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Musk is a walking ethics violation.

[–] Majorllama@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

I have no love for Verizon but using starlink is the definition of a conflict of interest. I mean so has everything else he's been doing but this one is especially egregious.

[–] 800XL@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We call this a conflict of interest. Fuck Musk. Guess whose planes will never show up in flight logs so he, Trump, and all of Putin's other stooges can fly around and make deals with no bother.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 8 points 1 year ago

If the US does not accurately report flights, then the only solution is to cut it off from all international air travel. Any planes that would leave the US air space should be immediately forced to land or turn around by military aircraft in whichever airspace they enter.

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[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

An overhaul from the man who sells “full self driving”. What could possibly go wrong? 🙄

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 year ago

Um, I'd like to choose whatever the fuck might be behind door number 3. Even if it's murder hornets. As long as they are the data transmission sort of murder hornets.

[–] drdalek@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 1 year ago

Creating problems to justify enriching themselves with private contracts... America, to the highest bidder

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

I would sure love to see the proof that "FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk." from a wholly independent authority.

A note written on a paper napkin won't do.

[–] harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 year ago

Time to start shorting US airline stocks

[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago

Totally no conflict of interest with Musk getting all these contracts while being in the current administration.

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"This is your captain speaking. I'm afraid we're going to be a little bit delayed here because we've lost connection to the Starlink satellites that provide our communication. We'll be pushing back from the gate just as soon as the weather clears a bit."

[–] otacon239@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

“We’ll be cleared to land just as soon as our check clears.”

[–] shininghero@pawb.social 9 points 1 year ago

I think he's still salty over the ElonJet account that still posts the publicly available ADS-B flight plans for his plane on Bluesky and Mastodon.

Man for a bunch of rich assholes the GoP sure likes to shoot themselves in the foot.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

I'd say it's a good thing we have antitrust laws, but we all know how much laws mean to the group of mobsters currently in control.

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hats off to the people that still care enough to document this corruption. Hopefully someday (while Musk is still alive) the general public will care enough as well, so that there will be consequences.

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[–] HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.one 6 points 1 year ago

Of course 🙄

[–] MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I'm about to start demanding hazard pay from work when they need me to travel.

[–] culprit@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Today thousands of planes lost critical communications while in the US airspace after a SpaceX test flight exploded in low earth orbit. The explosion destroyed a significant portion of the Starlink satellite constellation, and international space tracking organizations are monitoring the situation closely. They are reporting a Kessler Syndrome cascade has not been ruled out.

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