A new biography by famed author Walter Isaacson about entrepreneur Elon Musk claims the world's richest man covertly instructed SpaceX engineers to temporarily deactivate his Starlink satellite communications network to thwart a surprise Ukrainian attack.
Musk first announced in August 2021 that Isaacson had begun writing his biography.
The covert action impacted the Crimean coastline, derailing a surprise attack with underwater drones by Kyiv on Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
As the explosive-laden submersibles approached their target, they mysteriously lost connectivity and floundered ashore. According to Isaacson, that's because Musk deactivated Starlink.
Musk's decision allegedly stemmed from his concern that a strike against the Russian-occupied Crimea would trigger a nuclear response from the Kremlin. The fear followed the billionaire's open discussions with high-ranking Russian officials.
Musk's concerns over a “mini-Pearl Harbor” as he put it, did not come to pass in Crimea. But the episode reveals the unique position Musk found himself in as the war in Ukraine unfolded. Whether intended or not, he had become a power broker US officials couldn't ignore.
The new book from Isaacson, the author of acclaimed biographies of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, provides fresh insights into Musk and how his existential dread of sparking a wider war drove him to spurn Ukrainian requests for Starlink systems they could use to attack the Russians.
After Russia disrupted Ukraine's communications systems just before its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Musk agreed to provide Ukraine with millions of dollars of SpaceX-made Starlink satellite terminals, which became crucial to Ukraine's military operations. Even as cellular phone and internet networks had been destroyed, the Starlink terminals allowed Ukraine to fight and stay connected.
But once Ukraine began to use Starlink terminals for offensive attacks against Russia, Musk started to second-guess that decision.
“How am I in this war?” Musk rhetorically asked Isaacson. “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.”
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Hope Musk is right on this