'No Capitalism In Space!' Twitter Screams As Tweet About Elon Musk Launching An Ad Satellite Gives The Wrong Impression

A tweet claiming that Elon Musk is launching a satellite that will display ads in space went viral last night as users, many assuming that a patch of the night sky is getting permanently turned into a giant ad, screamed in horror at the idea.

The news, originally reported by Business Insider, is not as dramatic as the tweet might make you think: Canadian startup Geometric Energy Corporation is building a satellite with a pixelated display screen that will be displaying various images. Pixels can be rented with Dogecoin to display certain colors for a period of time. Rent a lot of pixels, and you can advertise or show whatever you like.

Neither the screen nor the satellite, named CubeSat, will be visible from Earth. Instead, the satellite will be equipped with a selfie stick fixed at the screen, with the footage livestreamed to a platform like YouTube or Twitch. A Falcon 9 rocket, built by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, will be bringing the satellite to orbit after its construction finishes in 2022.

The tweet that went viral last night does not really go into detail on all that, and it's clear why many people got angry at the idea of "space ads."

Elon Musk is going to launch a satellite that displays ads in space, reports @BusinessInsider.

He is one of several billionaires investing vast sums on the space race. SpaceX will launch the satellite with a display screen in 2022. Ad space will be bought using cryptocurrency. pic.twitter.com/Y37UeBrBYM

— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 9, 2021

The post accumulated over 13,600 quote tweets in one day, and most of those were promises of going full sicko mode should the space ads thing happen.

Listen to me. If the beautiful infinite void of space, the one thing I have at the end of the day, is obscured by fucking Disney+ and McDonald's ads I will become the joker. https://t.co/6xXBlOqY2j

— Zane Schacht, Voice Goblin (@VoicesByZane) August 9, 2021

if i ever look up at the night sky and see a space billboard i am becoming a terrorist https://t.co/8wAJ6o69HV

— Lauren L Walker (@ActNormalOrElse) August 9, 2021

instead of banning plastic straws i say we ban this stuff https://t.co/CP2n0GRuAn

— Bes D. Marx (@besf0rt) August 9, 2021

pic.twitter.com/9KtvxYimhk https://t.co/1N904NqJxU

— daniel (@spriteminican) August 9, 2021

There has also been a fair share of jokes and memes in the mix.

https://t.co/VkCTp3CAoa pic.twitter.com/FgDap0iNW6

— Zack Fox (@zackfox) August 9, 2021

imagine trying to look at the stars and a huge THIS GAME MADE ME CUM IN 5 MINUTES comes into view https://t.co/cGThqgBXsI

— ボブ (@weeabob) August 10, 2021

Hi there hello it's me I'm the ad-stronaut

I'm out here in ad space https://t.co/OuZVWdNyc6

— Ryan George (@theryangeorge) August 10, 2021

Samuel Reid, CEO and co-founder of Geometric Energy Corporation, hopes that the satellite will help "democratize access to space and allow for decentralized participation." He also hopes people don't waste money on something inappropriate, insulting or offensive. We, however, certainly wouldn't mind Broly Culo mooning everyone from the infinity of space.