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Elon Musk mistakenly claimed a Starlink-streamed video was from Antarctica, but X's community notes revealed it was actually filmed in Patagonia, South America. The footage, shared by a user, showed an ice cave. This incident follows Musk's recent $1.25 trillion merger of SpaceX and his AI startup, xAI.
Elon Musk has got his facts wrong, as he has made a public ‘goof-up’ online. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, recently posted a video on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) that he claimed was live-streamed from Antarctica using Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service.
The video was actually from Patagonia, which is located in South America, according to X's community notes, which corrected him.The exchange began when X user Sawyer Merritt shared Starlink's Super Bowl ad on February 9 and wrote: "NEWS: In a first for any Elon Musk company, SpaceX has created its first Super Bowl ad for @Starlink." Replying to this, Musk wrote: "Most people still don't know that Starlink offers fast, low-latency, affordable connectivity almost anywhere on Earth!"Another user named Mario Nawfal then shared a video of a naturally made cave built from ice, which resembles a cathedral from Patagonia and wrote, “Because of Starlink, the first person has live-streamed the legendary 'ice wall' in Antarctica. @Starlink is a game-changer for the streaming industry. We can now see places like never before. Amazing."To reassure that the video was from Antarctica, Musk wrote: "This video was live-streamed from Antarctica using @Starlink."However, X's community notes pointed out Musk's mistake and wrote:"The author of the video clearly says that he is streaming from Patagonia, which is a region in South America. This stream is not from Antarctica."
The person recording the video can also be heard saying that it's Patagonia, South America, and not Antarctica.Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite-based broadband network designed to deliver internet connectivity to remote and underserved regions worldwide, including polar regions. While SpaceX has previously demonstrated Starlink connectivity in Antarctica and other remote locations, some online discussions about the specific video have questioned its authenticity, suggesting the footage may have come from elsewhere.
Elon Musk merges SpaceX and xAI in a $1.25 trillion deal
Earlier this month, Musk merged SpaceX with his artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI in a deal valued at approximately $1.25 trillion, according to Bloomberg. The merger was announced in a memo to employees and confirmed on SpaceX's website, signed by Musk. The combined company integrates AI, space technology, satellite internet, direct-to-mobile communications and real-time information platforms. Shares in the merged entity are expected to be priced at around $527 each. SpaceX operates rocket launches and the Starlink satellite system, while xAI has developed AI models and the Grok chatbot. Musk has discussed building AI systems in space, including orbiting data centres powered by solar energy, as a potential long-term direction.
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