Elon Musk blasts Jeff Bezos, alleging effort to 'hamstring' SpaceX's satellite internet

The two richest men on the planet are sparring in front of federal regulators over the massive satellite internet projects their companies are developing. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter, as his company works to persuade Federal Communications Commission officials that it should allow SpaceX to move some of its Starlink satellites to lower altitudes than originally planned. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has been among companies that have disputed SpaceX’s request, on the grounds that the modification would interfere with other satellites. “It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation,” Musk said. Amazon responded to Musk’s comment: “The facts are simple. We designed the Kuiper System to avoid interference with Starlink, and now SpaceX wants to change the design of its system. Those changes not only create a more dangerous environment for collisions in space, but they also increase radio interference for customers. Despite what SpaceX posts on Twitter, it is SpaceX’s proposed changes that would hamstring competition among satellite systems. It is clearly in SpaceX’s interest to smother competition in the cradle if they can, but it is certainly not in the public’s interest." Both companies’ satellite networks represent ambitious projects, with SpaceX, like Amazon, saying its network will cost about $10 billion or more to build.