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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[–] [email protected] 31 points 15 hours 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?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 16 hours ago

Musk is a walking ethics violation.

[–] [email protected] 102 points 21 hours 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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 21 hours 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?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I'm old enough to say it was exactly like this back in 2005. That was a couple years after the Bush administration told blatant lies to start the Iraq War, ignoring the largest protests in the world up to the time. There was open corruption as they gave out massive no-bid contracts to Republican cronies like KBR. There was rank incompetence like the FEMA response to hurricane Katrina, led by a guy whose sole qualifications were running a horse breeding association (and raising a bunch of money for Republicans).

[–] [email protected] 21 points 16 hours ago

Bush threw no bid contracts for new work at Halliburton, and it was a sketchy scandal that congress wasn't willing to prosecute, because republicans. Musk is outright stealing a contract from another vendor, while slandering them in the media.

[–] hddsx 176 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Aha! Trump uncovers corruption within DOGE itself!

[–] Nemean_lion 65 points 1 day ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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

[–] nova_ad_vitum 11 points 21 hours ago

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

[–] [email protected] 17 points 23 hours ago

The attempt to sell Teslas to the military was definitely a conflict of interests as well.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 22 hours ago

Yep. Never flying again.

[–] [email protected] 95 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Tesla’s shareholders might though.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 22 hours 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.

[–] corsicanguppy 57 points 1 day 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 gonna be great, you guys.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 23 hours ago

Sorry, all flights grounded because solar flares. At least we only lost 20 planes this time.

Sorry, all flights grounded because some fuckwit decided to use satellites for a network instead of fiber underground and a bad actor jammed the radio spectrum.

Sorry, all flights are grounded because Elmo Muskrat got in a pissy fit on Twitter with a 15 year old kid, and he showed him by shutting off the satellite network over the US. (Variation on your last bullet.)

[–] avidamoeba 20 points 23 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago

Lets not forget delay issues. Something that could be very deadly in ATC.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 23 hours ago

Yeah, it is in fact a terrible idea.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 21 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 14 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 hours ago

I bet this is definitely a contributing factor to his actions. Hard to fly a drone into his engine if you don't know which plane is his...

[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 day 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?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Sounds like a real lack of efficiency

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago

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

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

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

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 day 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!

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day 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

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day 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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 17 hours ago

Of course 🙄

[–] [email protected] 15 points 21 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 22 hours ago

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

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 day 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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[–] [email protected] 11 points 22 hours ago

Time to start shorting US airline stocks

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day 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.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago

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

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 day 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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 22 hours ago

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago

Hmm, convenient.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

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

[–] [email protected] 5 points 21 hours ago

Oh right here we go

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day 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."

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago

I'm sure that will end well.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day 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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day 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.

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