Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X, speaks at the Atreju political conference organized by Fratelli d’Italia, in Rome, December 15, 2023.
Antonio Masiello | Getty Images
The Chinese Communist Party’s House Select Committee sent a letter to Elon Musk on Saturday demanding that U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan have access to SpaceX’s Starshield, a satellite communications network designed specifically for the military.
The letter, obtained by CNBC and first reported by Forbes, stated that by not making Starshield available to U.S. military forces in Taiwan, SpaceX may be violating the Pentagon’s contract, which requires “global access” to Starshield technology.
“I understand, however, that SpaceX may deny broadband Internet services in and around Taiwan, perhaps in violation of SpaceX’s contractual obligations with the U.S. Government,” reads the letter, signed by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wi ., who chairs the House CCP Committee.
The Pentagon awarded SpaceX a one-year contract for Starshield in September, after commissioning SpaceX’s Starlink network months earlier for Ukraine’s war against Russia, which reached the two-year mark on Saturday.
The letter comes after Gallagher led a visit to Taiwan where he and a delegation of other lawmakers met with Taiwanese officials such as President Tsai Ing-wen and President-elect Lai Ching-te.
The letter states that lawmakers learned that U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan were unable to use Starshield despite the Pentagon’s global access clause: “Multiple sources have disclosed to the Committee that Starshield is down in and around Taiwan.”
The letter requests that Musk provide the House committee with a briefing on his operations in Taiwan by March 8.
Taiwan has governed itself independently from China since the island split from the mainland during the 1949 civil war. China has said it still claims Taiwan and has repeatedly made clear its intention to reunify the sovereign island with the mainland.
“In the event of CCP military aggression against Taiwan, US military personnel in the Western Pacific would be put at grave risk,” the letter reads. “Ensuring robust communications networks for U.S. military personnel in and around Taiwan is critical to safeguarding U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Tesla’s success hinges on favorable trade ties with China, which has led Musk, its chief executive, to cultivate intimate ties with the country despite broader tensions with the United States. Tesla operates its own factory in Shanghai while other foreign automakers in China have been asked to establish joint ventures.
Musk was criticized by Taiwanese officials last September for apparently siding with China’s reunification doctrine over Taiwan, saying the self-governing island was an essential part of China.
“I think I have a good understanding as an outsider of China,” Musk said Full podcast. “From their perspective, maybe it’s analogous to Hawaii or something, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China.”
“Listen, #Taiwan is not part of the #PRC and it is certainly not for sale,” said Taiwan Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu he wrote on X in response to Musk’s comment.
SpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Read the full letter here: