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Billionaire Carlos Slim cancels $22 billion in Starlink orders due to Elon Musk’s outburst (cleantechnica.com)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Summary

Carlos Slim’s telecom giant, América Móvil, canceled $22 billion in planned Starlink orders after Elon Musk insinuated Slim had ties to drug cartels.

The decision, made within hours of Musk’s tweet, costs Musk his main partner in 25 countries and shifts business to Chinese and European competitors, further reducing U.S. commercial influence.

Musk’s increasing political entanglements and conspiracy-laden posts are alienating key business partners and consumers, with potential ripple effects on Tesla sales.

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[-] gon@lemm.ee 260 points 3 months ago

It's nice that Elon is getting hit where it hurts. Hopefully the EU benefits from this.

[+] Sato@lemm.ee 110 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

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[-] in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 3 months ago

Am I the only one that's not worried about the future? As a non-American I mean, it feels like we're about to have more global unity and prosperity entirely at the expense of America, whereby it'll become the futures new "No Man's Land" of proxy-wars, weapons testing, and religious fundamentalism to satiate the MIC while everywhere else gets to make new trade partnerships and are free to explore more political possibilities without having to pay their dues to Uncle Sam.

Maybe i'm being too optimistic, but it sorta feels like the winds are blowing towards a new global alliance of Europe and NATO teaming up with China, purposefully excluding and at the expense of Russia and USA. Feels like the Cold War superpowers have both lost, Russia successfully defeating USA but not without collapsing themselves too. Almost as though this war in Ukraine was just part of the mechanism to collapse the USA/EU Atlantic alliance, and the war can only be over once Russia and USA are through.

[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 13 points 3 months ago

You are forgetting that China and Russia are friends, and always have been. Sure, they have their dust-ups, but it's never serious. Last summer they were having combined wargames along the Alaska/Canadian coast, and Russian and Chinese jets flew close enough to have our air command nervous. At the same time Russia was touting their alliance with North Korea.

I think the US will leave NATO, but NATO will not align with China. Instead, there will be a new alliance, and America will join Russia, China, North Korea, and a few others (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Hungary, Turkey, etc.) in a new Axis Of Evil.

[-] Carrolade@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago

I don't know where you get your info, but China and Russia have a frenemy relationship, a friendly rivalry, basically. This goes back to Stalin's limited support for the CCP in their early days, or even before when the Russian Tsar conquered huge swaths of land from the Qing Dynasty during their Century of Humiliation, about the time when we Americans were busy having our Civil War. We see it to this day, where China could have a huge and decisive effect on the Russo-Ukrainian War if they wished and fully threw in with Russia, but instead are happy to sit back and war profiteer while Russia takes heavy loses and the West spends money instead of making it.

Then Iran and Saudi Arabia are archenemies. Iran is a Shia-majority theocracy, SA is a Sunni-majority secular monarchy with a history of persecuting Shias, and even warming up to Israel before Oct 7th. They have a long history of conflict.

Not sure how Turkey gets on the list either, Turkey has consistently played both sides, always being in it for Turkey. I don't see the benefit for them to actually pick a side, thus losing their benefits from the other. We see this clearly, again, in how they've approached the Russo-Ukrainian War. Like cozying up to Putin, but hey, have some free Bayraktars, Ukraine!

I know a lot of people put a lot of effort into trying to make it seem like a real WW3 with fairly even sides is plausible in the near future, but it always requires a lot of cherry picking and ignoring realities for them to spin their stories together.

[-] in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I'm likely not well informed enough to know for sure, but from what I've been gathering is that China Russia relations are more or less based on weapons deals while otherwise remaining neutral and shakey at best. As in they're sort of "fair weather friends" but I think China has a better future in weapons deals with a United Europe and a collapsing USA and Russia Vs. a future with a collapsing Russia and the likes of Iran or Hungary (Turkey is NATO btw). China certainly wouldn't approach Europe with a deal, but rather I feel like China is in the position to choose between deals that are coming to them, and while China is certainly not an ideal Big Daddy I feel like they'd do a better job at overseeing more peaceful relations with themselves on top instead of America. Iran and North Korea would get a better deal out of it too than this new Axis of Evil you're proposing. Everyone just wants USA to collapse so they can get on with their countries without USA's meddling interference schemes and paying dues to Uncle Sam, that alone would placate a lot of these "Evil Countries" to be more willing and able to be less "evil". It's not a solution but it's progress.

AGAIN i'm most likely wrong, would like to be enlightened further if anyones got some good reads/vids for me.

[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 7 points 3 months ago

That's an excellent point. Trump is replacing all the competent people with loyalists, without remembering a basic fact: It is better to keep your potential enemy inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.

All he has done is force all of his most competent leaders to join the opposition, as well as tens of thousands of inside operatives who are now unemployed, but know better than anyone how the system operates. There are are also a lot of people still on the inside, who hate what has happened to their workplace and their colleagues, and won't be so compliant. They'll be perfect moles for any espionage/sabotage.

Eventually they'll get organized, and it will be the competent, motivated Patriots against the treasonous MAGA morons.

[-] hansolo@lemm.ee 10 points 3 months ago

Eutelsat and Amazon's Kuiper just got one more pre-order.

[-] gon@lemm.ee 11 points 3 months ago

Well, Amazon isn't exactly great for the EU, but at least it's not Elon, IG...

[-] pennomi@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

Billionaires trying to preserve the status quo are far less dangerous than billionaires trying to disrupt it.

[-] wjrii@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Damning with faint praise, but you're not wrong. No billionaire getting stuck-in like Musk is doing it to make the world a better place for anyone else, and no one except autocrats and accelerationist wackos should be pleased with how things have changed in the last 6 months.

[-] gon@lemm.ee 5 points 3 months ago

So? No billionaires at all are better than both cases. Bezos is evil too, any investment going towards him is terrible to. It's better than Elon, but all this is terrible. Also, Bezos is not trying to preserve the status quo, he's only trying to protect himself and his pockets, that's all.

[-] pennomi@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Nowhere did I claim that billionaires are good. I’m saying which type are the most dangerous.

It’s like saying “which tiger is more dangerous, the hungry one or the hungry AND rabid one?” Obviously both are existential problems to us, but one is still worse the others.

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[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago

True, but not good enough. Eventually there will come a billionaire who is even more psychopathic than all the others, probably some Nepo-baby who thinks he's a super-villain-genius because he was smart enough to be born with money. That guy will truly wreck the world more than the current batch of billionaires will.

If we don't end this power grab by the billionaires, and eliminate them from existence, now and in the future, it will ONLY get worse and worse, until it is the end of civilization.

[-] teamevil@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Bezos is just as evil

[-] gon@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago

Not sure about that, but I can't really say I disagree, fundamentally.

[-] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Shame that he's going to bring the rest of us down with him

[-] crabigno@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 months ago

I've managed to not lose a single cent from all my others investments combined thanks to the little I had in Eutelsat. I'm for sure reinforcing that one. Also, shorting tesla has been fun, but I don't have the means to do it at a risk safe scale.

After Tesla, starlink should come next (X will die organically) so unfortunate starlink is not public to short.

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[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 126 points 3 months ago

Feels so good seeing Elon Musk get kicked in the dick.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 79 points 3 months ago

He is kicking himself in the dick.

Kinda reminds me of Kanye West TBH.

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

Yesterday someone posted a thread that claimed that was the actual intention. Awfully questionable but it’s a funny enough idea to spread anyway ……

The claim is some economic mastermind in the administration believes our entire problem is interest rates and the dollar is too strong. Ok as far as that goes, but the further claim is all the tariffs, flip flopping, broken contracts are just to persuade countries to kick us in the dick until we feel better. They may not have used those exact words

[-] TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz 8 points 3 months ago

There are better ways to devalue your currency. It's not such an uncommon thing for countries to do. Why go out of your way to be a dick? This new type of behavior we are observing from US officials just smacks of sheer incompetency and lack of direction on the diplomatic stage.

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 months ago

There's some merit to them purposefully tanking stocks. Prior to the flip-flopping, a lot of big money pulled out of the market significantly (which also contributed to it crashing and people freaking) As far as the dollar being too strong, it just has to stay stronger than the stockmarket so they can buy back cheap.

Of course, it'll cause a recession. fuck over everyone and just about every company in the country, but Elon doesn't care, he'll just grant himself a bunch of defense and aerospace contracts, maybe order a 30 billion in teslas for the government.

[-] ThanksObama@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 months ago

Kanye is not a gay fish!

[-] valkyre09@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

But he does like fish sticks!

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[-] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

He ruined his dick with his ketamine habit

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[-] drhodl@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

I doubt he feels it. Apparently it got broken in failed vanity surgery. So, he is now a chinless, balding, dickless Wonder Boy under all that surgery. One wonders how he got to the belief that his defective genes were the ones that needed propagation.

[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 86 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

And here I was feeling good about myself after I canceled an order of 4 units for work. But every magnitude matters, I guess.

EDIT: Because starlink customer support is awful. It is a good product in theory, but because of their lack of service update, such as when they change stuff that affects us, it cannot be relied upon in production environments. And in todays political climate I simply don't want him to get any more money from me. We managed with 2mbit VSAT before, and will do so again.

[-] AliasAKA@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

Honestly, more small orders getting cancelled is also awesome, good on you!

[-] LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Thank you for your service!

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[-] oce@jlai.lu 77 points 3 months ago

Just when the new EU launcher Ariane 6 is finally fully operational. That's convenient. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/europes-ariane-6-stages-first-commercial-launch-2025-03-06/

[-] mormund@feddit.org 11 points 3 months ago

I'd be very surprised if OneWeb ever launches on Ariane 6. It is not build for cheap LEO launches at all afaik. But maybe some ride shares, who knows.

[-] FaceDeer@fedia.io 10 points 3 months ago

The problem is that Ariane 6 is already an obsolete previous-gen design, not one part is reusable. SpaceX is the dominant launch provider for a very solid reason and ultimately the only way to compete with them is going to be to adopt their ideas and methodologies.

[-] Sibshops@lemm.ee 68 points 3 months ago

Let's bring back being decent to people.

[-] Baguette@lemm.ee 67 points 3 months ago

Carlos also cancelled a more immediate $7 billion business plan with Starlink, which makes it closer to 30 billion lost.

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[-] Corno@lemm.ee 48 points 3 months ago

Good. Seeing a Nazi face consequences for his actions in real time is so satisfying.

[-] filister@lemmy.world 40 points 3 months ago

That's an uplifting news

[-] TomAwsm@lemmy.world 33 points 3 months ago

Dear Slim, I wrote you but you still ain't calling.

[-] bfg9k@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

I left my cell, my pager and my home phone at the bottom

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[-] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 30 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I have some doubts. Only small or weird outlets have any news on this and there is no good original source linked anywhere.

The Canadian Press explains a potential path by which this claim could have arisen, namely that Slim's company América Móvil had stated in an earnings call that they were going to invest 22 billion pesos (! not USD) in infrastructure over three years and they didn't have plans to invest it in Starlink, instead looking more towards two other satellite companies, and only for rural backbones where laying fiber would be more expensive.

[-] not_amm@lemmy.ml 16 points 3 months ago

I mean, Carlos Slim is not from the USA, so most news were in spanish:

https://www.sdpnoticias.com/mexico/a-elon-musk-le-salio-caro-el-chiste-de-carlos-slim-su-mensaje-le-costo-a-starlink-una-inversion-por-7000-millones-de-dolares/

https://larepublica.pe/mundo/2025/02/24/el-acuerdo-entre-carlos-slim-y-elon-musk-que-impulsaba-starlink-en-america-latina-pero-termino-en-fracaso-de-siete-mil-quinietos-millones-de-dolares-1896288

[-] europeanfan122@lemm.ee 24 points 3 months ago

Deserved.

[-] skvlp@lemm.ee 15 points 3 months ago

Great news

[-] Theprogressivist@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago

Good.

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

lol

[-] psmgx@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

I mean he does have ties to drug cartels, but you don't say it

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 months ago

What ties? Can you elaborate?

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this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025

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