If earthly real estate is no longer interesting, how about some in space?
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos' head-to-head race over the title as the "richest man in the world" is not the only thing these billionaires are up to. Just recently, these tech giant moguls are also feuding against their respective space "real estate properties."
The clash started after the SpaceX and Tesla founder asked the Federal Communications Commission's permission to operate his Starlink satellites at a lower orbit, something that is not included in his initial proposal.
Amazon.com Inc's CEO immediately reacted to Musk's manifesto and said it would interfere and collide with his company's planned Kuiper satellite.
Both Starlink and Kuiper are networks of broadband satellites are designed to transmit internet connection from space. Both aim to provide low-cost internet to remote locations in the world.
Twitter War
Musk and Bezos' "space real estate" dispute would usually be discussed in regular filings, but it has now become a piece of public discussion as it involves two of the world's tech giant billionaires who are racing towards chasing their dream in the celestial body.
In a Twitter post, Amazon directly addressed SpaceX's proposal to lower its space orbit.
"It is SpaceX's proposed changes that would hamstring competition among satellite systems," Amazon wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The online retail giant accused Musk's company of changing plans to "stifle" the competition is not done for the public interest.
"It is clearly in SpaceX's interest to smother competition in the cradle if they can, but it is certainly not in the public's interest," the tweet reads.
In response, the reigning richest man in the world said that Bezos' project should not hinder his plans as Amazon's satellite system would be years away from operation.
In a tweet reply to CNBC journalist Michael Sheetz, Musk said: "It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation."
It is not long enough before Amazon hits back, saying their initial design is not meant to clash with SpaceX's.
"The facts are simple. We designed the Kuiper System to avoid interference with Starlink, and now SpaceX wants to change the design of its system," Amazon wrote in a follow-up tweet.
"Those changes not only create a more dangerous environment for collisions in space, but they also increase radio interference for customers," the statement added.
Amazon also urged the FCC to decline SpaceX's request to lower orbits as it would interfere with the Kuiper System orbits.
Space Dream Project
Over the past years, the Space Exploration Technologies Corp has launched more than 1,000 satellite for Starlink internet service. On the other hand, Amazon won a fleet of 3,236 satellites from FCC but has not launched any to date.
A lower orbit in space means faster internet service because the signal will not travel far than usual. SpaceX explained when their satellites are closer to Earth, it will lessen the risk of having space debris as it would fall out of orbit faster than a bigger spacecraft.
