Elon Musk’s Starlink Is Quietly Benefiting From Tariff Negotiations

The Trump administration’s tariff regime has squeezed most Americans, causing new financial pressures as the cost of goods goes up, but at least one person seems to be making out pretty well from the situation: Elon Musk. According to a report from the Washington Post, Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink has attracted new interest from nations that are looking to wiggle their way out of Trump’s tariff crunch.

The Post highlights the small nation of Lesotho, which was inexplicably subjected to a 50% tax when Trump first announced his so-called “reciprocal” penalties (which turned out to be the result of some sort of very strange, nonsensical formula that may or may not have come from a chatbot). Two weeks after the tariffs were announced, Lesotho leadership met with representatives of Starlink, which had been trying to get a foothold in the country for some time prior, and signed a deal to make the company Lesotho’s first-ever satellite internet service.

Coincidences happen, of course. It’s just that, according to the Post, they’re happening pretty regularly right now with Starlink. Around the same time as the tariffs were being discussed and implemented, Starlink also struck deals to provide service in parts of Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Pakistan, Somalia, and Vietnam.

In the case of Lesotho, a memo obtained by the Post makes it clear that there’s an attempt to curry favor happening: “As the government of Lesotho negotiates a trade deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome U.S. businesses,” the internal State Department communication read. It’s hard to imagine that other nations haven’t had similar thoughts of strategically aligning themselves with a company run by a Trump White House employee in order to get some relief.

The Trump administration has not been explicitly pushing Starlink on these companies, according to the report, but it has been encouraging countries to do business with US-based satellite internet firms, and there happens to be one very big, prominent one that comes to mind. And it certainly seems like countries are treating Starlink favorably. India, for example, reportedly sped up the approvals process for the company in an effort to grease the wheels for trade deals, per the Post.

Lining Musk’s pockets may not be the primary purpose of the Trump admin pushing satellite internet on countries (though it surely doesn’t hurt, either). Chinese companies are quickly ramping up to offer an alternative to Starlink, and the US would prefer to capture those markets before its competitors can. So it’s using the leverage to push American products. It is funny how it seems to always benefit Trump’s backers, though, right? Coincidences happen all the time.