Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim cancels his projects with Starlink following a controversial tweet from Elon Musk linking him to organized crime

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has officially canceled his partnership with Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by South African tycoon Elon Musk. The decision follows a January 26 post on Musk’s X account—his own social media platform—where he insinuated that Slim had ties to organized crime in Mexico. According to multiple Mexican media outlets, this allegation prompted Slim to transfer his Starlink projects to AST SpaceMobile and other companies in China and Europe. The canceled projects would have represented a $22 billion investment.

The tweet in question was a response to a post by the Wall Street Mav account, which criticized *The New York Times*—where Slim is the largest shareholder—for publishing an article arguing that the U.S. government's decision to classify Mexico's drug cartels as terrorists could negatively impact the country.

"Carlos Slim is a Mexican billionaire worth over $70 billion. He is the largest shareholder in publicly traded shares of The New York Times. He also is known to have significant ties to the drug cartels in Mexico. You don’t become a billionaire in Mexico without being part of the network that is controlled and protected. The NYT knows who their owners are connected to and are pushing the narrative that supports Carlos Slim’s business interests and his partners," Elon Musk retweeted the post, adding an emoji of a face with a magnifying glass. Many interpreted this as a sarcastic response to the seriousness of the accusation.

Hard blow for Starlink

Carlos Slim’s company, América Móvil, had planned to collaborate with Starlink to enhance Mexico’s telecommunications infrastructure, investing $22 billion over the next three years. The cancellation of this project could have a significant financial impact on Elon Musk’s company—not only due to the loss of this substantial investment but also because it could complicate future efforts to establish telecommunications partnerships in Latin America.

Furthermore, Musk loses his key partner in the telecommunications industry across 25 countries, potentially opening the door for a greater commercial presence of Chinese companies, which are likely to seize the opportunity to expand their influence in the sector.