Elon Musk has rejected claims that his Starlink satellite internet project is taking up too much room in space.
“Tens of billions” of satellites can be accommodated in orbits close to Earth, he said.
His comments come after a claim by the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) that Musk was “making rules” for the emerging commercial space industry.
This week, China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with Starlink satellites.
“Space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny,” said Musk in an interview.
Musk pushed back at suggestions that his Starlink Internet Services project was effectively obstructing the entry of competitors to the satellite industry, saying that there is ample room in the Earth’s orbit for satellites.
“This is not some situation where we’re effectively blocking others in any way. We’ve not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to,” he said.
“A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. It’s like, hey, here’s a couple of thousand of cars on Earth, it’s nothing,” he added.
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