Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission’s decision not to move forward with awarding a contract to SpaceX’s Starlink to provide broadband to rural areas may have cost lives in North Carolina when it was hit by Hurricane Helene.

Musk, the SpaceX CEO, responded to a post on Bidder Winner.

“Had the FCC not unlawfully revoked the SpaceX Starlink award, it likely would have saved lives in North Carolina,” Musk wrote in his response. “Lawfare costs lives.”

Western North Carolina was hit particularly hard Hurricane Helenewhich also wreaked havoc in other parts of the Southeast after making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. At least 170 people have been killed in six states – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee – in what has become the second deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland.

Helene death toll rises to 170 as Biden sends 1,000 troops to help with response and recovery efforts

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticized the FCC over the agency’s decision to rescind Starlink’s rural broadband award. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

SpaceX’s Starlinkwhich provides high-speed internet through satellite connections, received $885 million from the FCC in 2020 to help expand high-speed internet access in rural areas across the country.

The FCC repealed This initial award was made in 2022 on the grounds that Starlink was not reasonably capable of meeting the program’s requirements and reiterated this decision in December 2023.

An FCC spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement: “Chairwoman Rosenworcel stands by the FCC’s thorough review of a program designed to provide long-term access to reliable and affordable broadband in rural communities.”

“In this case, the agency denied public funding to more than a dozen companies – not just Starlink – that did not meet program requirements. As an independent agency, the FCC takes seriously its obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to companies that “fully comply with the rules and the law,” the FCC statement continued.

“PARTISANE POLITICS” IS THE REASON THE FCC REVOKED STARLINK’S Rural INTERNET AWARD, SAYS BRENDAN CARR

Starlink terminals provide Internet access via satellite connections. (Photo illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who has criticized the agency’s decision not to provide rural broadband funding to SpaceX, told FOX Business: “There’s no question that communities across the country would be in a much better position when it comes to connectivity today, if…”The government had not unlawfully revoked the award that Starlink had legitimately won in 2020.”

Carr previously told FOX Business that he viewed the decision to revoke the Starlink award as motivated by partisan politics President Biden Previous statements that Musk’s relationships with other countries “should be considered” and other federal regulatory scrutiny have impacted Musk’s business.

TRUMP SAYS HE HAS TALKED TO ELON MUSK ABOUT USING STARLINK IN HELENE DEVASTATED AREAS

Storm damage near Biltmore Village in Asheville, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images / Getty Images)

residents of the affected communities Hurricane Helenethat caused historic flooding in regions of western North Carolina are still trying to restore communications and power to affected areas – an effort hampered by the extent of damage to roads and bridges in the region.

Former President Trump said Monday that he “only spoke to Elon” because he “wanted to connect Starlink because they have no communication at all due to storm damage.”

White House Spokesman Andrew Bates had posted on X on Monday afternoon that “this is already happening.” In an update on Wednesday, Bates said on

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced in a press release Wednesday that it has deployed 50 Starlink satellite systems to support emergency responder communications.

Starlink said on Tuesday that a total of about 500 Starlink kits have arrived or will arrive in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

Musk also announced that Starlink is working to make the system work in hurricane-affected areas regardless of payment status, providing essentially free access for those affected by Helene.

FOX Business’s Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.