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President Donald Trump told people in Valdosta, Georgia, that he has spoken with SpaceX founder Elon Musk about setting up internet services for people impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The report came following widespread internet outages, especially in Western North Carolina, following storms over the weekend that have left over 100 dead and hundreds of more people still unaccounted for.
“I just spoke to Elon. We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever. And Elon will always come through. We know that. So we’re working on that,” Trump said.
Musk posted a late-night update on his X account with his latest response.
“Since the Hurricane Helene disaster, SpaceX has sent as many Starlink terminals as possible to help areas in need,” Musk wrote.
“Earlier today, @realDonaldTrump alerted me to additional people who need Starlink Internet in North Carolina. We are sending them terminals right away,” he added.
Starlink is part of SpaceX, founded by Musk, that provides satellite internet access. It currently claims to be the only high-bandwidth internet system that covers the entire planet.
Reuters stated on Monday that the White House reported on Monday that dozens of Starlink satellite systems are now in use in North Carolina, with over 100 more in transit.
The outlet also noted a Monday FEMA statement said that in North Carolina, “40 Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications and an additional 140 are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration.”
Starlink has helped in past tragedies where communications have been unavailable. The service drew global attention after Musk offered assistance to Ukraine after internet services were destroyed at the start of Russia’s invasion.
Musk came out in support of Trump following the first assassination attempt against him in July. He has since reportedly donated several million dollars to a super PAC supporting Trump and has been an outspoken advocate for him.
The X owner, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, recently interviewed Trump on his social media platform and discussed the assassination attempt and a variety of other issues.
