Published 16:25 IST, February 20th 2021
Elon Musk faces rejection by French villagers as they deny permission to install antennas
Residents of a small village in France have objected to SpaceX owner Elon Musk using their lands for the purpose of providing satellite-powered internet.
- World News
- 2 min read
Recently, residents of a small village in France have objected to SpaceX owner Elon Musk using their lands for the purpose of providing satellite-powered internet to Earthlings. Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron asked Musk to keep the new antennas far away from their land. This is because they fear that the signals could pose some kind of harm to the residents.
Permission denied
Musk aims at providing fast internet for remote areas all over the world. For this, he needs to install thousands of satellites and antennas on the ground which will help in capturing the signal. These signals will then be bounced back to the individual user terminals that will be connected by cables. The contractor had already secured permission in France to install nine three-metre-tall radomes which will help in protecting the antennas. It was in December when Saint-Senier issued a decree to block all construction on the field.
The installation of antennas has created a lot of chaos among the villagers. The farmers are worried that this would lead to less production of milk by the cows. However, there are farmers who have started naming their cows on Musk and his company. One of them is SpaceX du Beuvron.
In another significant development, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently said during an interview that he is not a "Mars person" and would rather invest his money on something that poses greater challenges to humanity. Speaking to New York Times opinion writer Kara Swisher, Gates said he is not a person who would invest his money for travelling to space when he can buy vaccines to save life on Earth. Gates' comment is in contrast to the views of Musk, who has, on several occasions, expressed his desire to colonize Mars.
Gates, however, praised Musk for his contributions towards the fight against climate change by making electric passenger cars. Gates said "underestimating Elon Musk is not a good idea", adding he has made important contributions with Tesla in the fight against climate change. Gates further added that while Tesla was doing some important stuff, it is not sufficient to tackle climate change, which would require focus from other industries as well.
(Image Credits: AP)
Updated 16:25 IST, February 20th 2021