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An enormous fear dominated the tech billionaire Elon Musk (52): he was afraid that his technology would unleash a nuclear war.
For this reason, a year ago he personally asked the employees of his aerospace company SpaceX to turn off the Starlink satellite internet around the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The goal: to prevent a surprise attack by the Ukrainians on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. CNN reports that, citing a new biography about Musk that will be available soon.
Musk’s power was unique
Walter Isaacson (71), the author of Musk’s biography, writes that after Musk’s decision, the underwater drones equipped with explosives lost contact and “drifted harmlessly to shore”.
Musk feared that without his intervention, what he calls a “mini-Pearl Harbor” would have happened. After talks with Russian officials, he expected Russia to retaliate with an atomic bomb attack.
This episode shows two things: first, Musk was given a historically unique position of power—and second, as the biography quotes suggest, he was unaware of it for a long time.
New Ground for Joe Biden and Co.
At the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, Musk’s satellite internet brought great benefits to the Ukrainians. Starlink provides Internet access through a system of more than 3,000 small satellites. This offer is of great importance to Ukraine in the war against Russia: the armed forces rely, among other things, on internet connections established via Starlink in their counter-offensive.
However, when the Ukrainian military used Starlink technology for offensive operations, the technology billionaire had his doubts. “What is my role in this war?” Musk said in the biography. “Starlink was not intended for use in war. People should use it to watch Netflix, enable homeschooling and do good, peaceful things, but not drone strikes.”
Musk held talks with US President Joe Biden (80) and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov (32). State officials have done pioneering work: never before had battlefield communications depended on the benevolence of an unpredictable billionaire.
Musk was also unpredictable last fall: First, his company SpaceX informed the Pentagon that it would no longer cover the costs for satellite equipment in Ukraine. Then comes the turnaround, Musk tweeted: “Damn… we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free.”
This caused problems at SpaceX. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, 59, is quoted in the biography as saying, “The Pentagon had a $145 million check ready to present to me.” But then Musk “gave in” after a shit storm. However, an agreement was eventually reached with the US and other European countries. (babe)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
