Billionaire Carlos Slim Cancels $22 Billion in Starlink Orders Resulting from Elon Musk’s Outburst

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Final Up to date on: eleventh March 2025, 02:40 am

This can be a fairly wild story that I hadn’t seen till yesterday, and simply noticed it as a result of a reader introduced it to us. It does have a connection to Tesla and its EV gross sales as effectively, however that’s admittedly unfastened. First, the story.

In case you haven’t seen, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been getting increasingly concerned in politics. He received into main political spats in Brazil, the UK, Germany, and naturally the US up to now 12 months. Within the US, currently, he has been heading up a “Division of Authorities Effectivity” (DOGE) initiative — not an precise authorities division, in fact, since that must be created by Congress, however one thing that someway oversees and interferes in authorities division after authorities division. He has induced loads of harm in that position, however that’s a narrative for an additional day. The purpose is that he’s gotten closely tied up in political issues, now routinely spreading wild claims and misinformation that’s politically motivated.

Effectively, except for aligning himself with Trump and his incessant assaults on Mexico (and on the New York Instances), Musk insinuated in January that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was considerably concerned with drug cartels in Mexico.

Why was Musk eager to share this? Who is aware of — he’s fallen for numerous conspiracy theories on X/Twitter. Something that sounds juicy and suits his agenda, whether or not discovered at 10pm, midnight, or 2:30 am, is value retweeting or responding to. No constraints, no penalties, who cares? Although, the New York Instances connection might be the most probably. Musk has a historical past of battle with the New York Instances. In truth, a few of the first tales about Tesla I coated and responded to in 2012 have been a few bizarre highway journey in a Tesla Mannequin S that wasn’t very pleasant to Tesla. Over time, I feel Musk has grown to hate the New York Instances. So, one thing to smear the most important particular person shareholder of the New York Instances? Juicy.

Reportedly, Slim has no editorial management in any respect over the New York Instances. Right here’s extra about his historical past and shares of the paper:

“Carlos Slim, a telecommunications magnate, acquired a stake within the NYT through the monetary disaster of 2008–2009.

“On the time, the newspaper was dealing with critical monetary issues, and Slim took the chance to take a position $250 million within the type of loans and warrants.

“By 2015, he exercised name choices that made him the most important particular person shareholder, with 17% of the category A shares, though with out editorial management over the media.

“In 2017, Slim diminished his stake to eight%, promoting half of his shares at market value. The funding was extremely worthwhile: the shares, which have been value lower than $5 in 2009, reached $18.60 in 2017, in response to the Monetary Instances.”

Slim has an interesting historical past. I see nothing there about drug cartels. I think about that if he certainly has zero ties to drug cartels, he’d be very bothered by somebody like Elon Musk implying he did.

Effectively, after the accusation, or extra particularly, the monocle-wearing “that’s fascinating, one ought to have a look at this and examine additional” emoji, Slim determined his big telecoms firm, América Móvil, would not have to spend $22 billion on Starlinks  within the subsequent few years. Initially, nearly 5 minutes after Musk’s tweet, Slim canceled a $7 billion Starlink order. An hour later, the complete $22 billion funding plan had been pulled. As a substitute, Slim goes to show to Chinese language and European corporations.

“Greater than cash, Musk misplaced his important associate in 25 nations, along with giving up all that territory to corporations of his competitors and, most severely, inflicting the USA to proceed dropping business presence and giving it to China,” Monterey Each day Submit writes.

The general level right here is that Musk’s wild, conspiratorial, dangerous claims on X and typically in the true world are driving folks away. A billionaire who most likely is aware of effectively how Starlink may assist his firm simply dropped $22 billion in deliberate investments! Many others usually are not shopping for Tesla automobiles, not EVangelizing for Tesla any longer, and even out protesting on the street. Whereas most of us don’t have $22 billion to spend on something, the purpose is evident: Musk retains pushing folks away from making large purchases (at their very own ranges) together with his wild and dangerous claims. He could have misplaced $22 billion in orders with this one haphazard insinuation, however he could have misplaced $22 billion or extra different mixed orders at Tesla with different claims and actions.

We’ll discover out soon-ish how a lot Tesla gross sales are being hit. The primary quarter provides some indication, but it surely’s additionally considerably affected by manufacturing line adjustments and folks ready for the brand new Mannequin Y. The second quarter, although, can have the burst of deliveries for brand new Mannequin Y orders. Effectively, general, we’ll must look throughout the primary and second quarters and tease out the conclusions we will. The query is, in 2025, will Musk’s habits do as a lot harm to Tesla’s gross sales because it did to Starlink gross sales when getting Slim to cancel $22 billion value of deliberate purchases?

Featured picture by Official SpaceX Pictures – Starlink Mission, CC0