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Liam O'Dell
52m
Tesla boss Elon Musk has come under fire this week, after it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that it was the SpaceX founder who ordered the slowdown of Starshield – the military version of the Starlink service – in Ukraine.
Citing US officials and people familiar with the matter, the WSJ states Musk limited the speeds last week, and that both Musk and Trump discussed the decision around Starlink “in a call soon after the slowdown became public”.
The latest development follows reporting from The Telegraph last week which said Musk suggested the idea of slowing down Starlink in the war-torn country to Trump, according to four sources familiar with the discussions between the two of them.
The news has since sparked outrage online, with some calling on Musk to be deported:
One X/Twitter user called on the entrepreneur to be “hauled before Congress immediately”:
Writer Jim Stewartson branded Musk a “traitor” and said “he must be put on trial, punished and denaturalized”:
And New York Times columnist David French wrote: “A completely unaccountable CEO shouldn't be making decisions of this profound geopolitical import”:
However, on 14 October, in response to former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeting that “Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored”, Musk said “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government” and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS”.
He added: “Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”
But to make things even more confusing, Reuters reported on Friday that the order to limit Starshield came from inside the government building, according to “two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter”.
And before he travelled to Georgia for a rally that same day, Trump was asked by a reporter about who gave the order to restrict Starlink, to which he replied: “I don’t know if it was anyone, because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon."
Both the White House and SpaceX have been approached for comment.
Why not read…?
- Musk’s childish response as ‘flying’ Tesla called out by AI leader
- ‘Absolutely depraved’: Musk criticised as he calls on Zelensky to resign
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