Why is there someone always making this comment every time a company or someone rich does something good for a bunch of people?
There's no such thing as altruism, with humans it's all self-interest, and that's good actually. Might as well point out that the water is wet. So why make this comment?
I made the comment, because parent suggested that starlink did something for the citizens in general. That's not correct. The good they did was incidental to preserving customers until they can start charging again.
And specifically I mentioned that, because the good part gets played up as some kind of freedom stance... but it's not. Even the announcement didn't describe it as such.
Musk could cut off Brazilian Starlink subscribers in the hopes that the backlash would change things in Brazil. But instead he probably thinks keeping those customers on (and happy) for free is the better choice for his business.
I agree with you that altruism exists, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give Musk the benefit of the doubt for many of the decisions he makes.
It doesn't scale though. You end up in a position where you can afford to do something like that if you behave altruistically.
What a goofy assertion.
Yeah, the big concern for Starlink and Musk is maintaining non-paying customers.
It's not altruism either, it's political.
It's the same reason you get offers of discounts or free periods when you try to cancel services from large companies. They care about your worth over years, not just right now.
It's only for existing customers and because they can't charge them anymore, but don't want to drop the customers just yet. It's a business continuity plan, not some altruistic gesture.