In the latest installment of “one not-very-smart rich guy has way too much power,” Elon Musk has acknowledged cutting off Ukrainian access to his Starlink satellite internet network in order to stop a Ukrainian drone strike on Russian forces.
Earlier this week, CNN reported that Musk ordered his engineers to deactivate Starlink terminals near the Crimean coast in order to thwart a Ukrainian stealth attack on Russian naval forces. Later, The New York Times clarified that Musk didn’t order a deactivation, but rather refused to enable the terminals after Ukrainian officials asked him to. The end result was the same, though: the terminals were inactive, Ukrainians were unable to communicate, and the attack failed. Musk’s decision came after he decided that a successful Ukrainian strike would lead to nuclear war—a conclusion he came to after speaking with Russian officials.
Ukraine has been relying on Starlink, provided by Musk’s company SpaceX, for military communications in the wake of damage to its own digital infrastructure.
On Twitter, Musk provided a mealy-mouthed justification for his decision:
“There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol,” Musk wrote. “The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”
Aside from the fact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is itself a “major act of war and conflict escalation,” Musk’s hubris in thinking that he knows what’s best for the world is as terrifying as it is galling. Back in October, Musk claimed that he was “up all night trying to think of any possible way to de-escalate this war”—as if he had the expertise or authority to take on such a problem in the first place. Notably, he claimed to take on that responsibility in response to a tweet by right-wing Malaysian tweeter Ian Miles Cheong, who also has no business deciding Ukrainian military strategy.
Elon Musk’s personal involvement in U.S. military operations and aid to Ukraine has come increasingly under question, partly because of his well-documented erratic behavior (not to mention his apparent willingness to believe whatever Russian officials tell him). A recent New Yorker article, along with a forthcoming biography by Walter Isaacson, make plain how much influence Musk now has over Ukraine’s defense strategy—and it’s way, way too much.
(via CNN, featured image: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Julia Glassman
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