Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
1–10 of 23 posts
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#2> "My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink's involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns," the former US official added.
> Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors, have become vital to Ukrainian military communications.
Talk about having one foot in both pools.
> Aides to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky have previously attempted to ease Mr Musk's concerns by telling him the system is "about defence, advancement, and survival", a source told The Telegraph.
Sorries me that this even needs explanation.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#3It was truly a mistake to entrust this guy with any power or means.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#4It was truly a mistake to entrust this guy with any power or means.
The rich aren't entrusted, they're entrenched. Despite their PR, they're an artifact of a glitchy system, they're not any more deserving or dedicated or dependable than anyone else. Very often they're much less.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#5This guy needs to be crushed by the national security apparatus. I think it will happen eventually given that the threat from great power wars is acute.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#6> "My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink's involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns," the former US official added. > Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors, have become vital to Ukrainian military communications. Talk about having one foot in bo…
> Talk about having one foot in both pools.
I honestly don't get it either. Why does he even care about Russia at this point? They can't directly attack the satellites, as that would be an act of war against the United States and Russia isn't that stupid. They're heavily sanctioned and basically a dead market now that the Ruble has crashed. So there shouldn't be any business considerations.
Not to mention ITAR, which the entire constellation falls under.
I'm just dumbfounded why he gives them the time of day. Does he not know that he can ignore their emails or something?
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#7> "My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink's involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns," the former US official added. > Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors, have become vital to Ukrainian military communications. Talk about having one foot in bo…
> Talk about having one foot in both pools. I honestly don't get it either. Why does he even care about Russia at this point? They can't directly attack the satellites, as that would be an act of war against the United States and Russia isn't that stupid. They're heavily sanctioned and basically a dead market now that the Ruble has crashed. So there shouldn't be any business considerations. Not to mention ITAR, which…
It's the same stupidity that has Trump boasting that he's 'the apple of Putin's eye'. There is a belief in an ideological affinity. It's absurd, because if Putin could wipe out the US without any consequences he would do it in a heartbeat, he wouldn't even think twice about doing so. He has a truly profound hatred for the United States that is layered with feelings of humiliation over Russia in the 1990s.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#8> "My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink's involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns," the former US official added. > Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors, have become vital to Ukrainian military communications. Talk about having one foot in bo…
> Talk about having one foot in both pools. I honestly don't get it either. Why does he even care about Russia at this point? They can't directly attack the satellites, as that would be an act of war against the United States and Russia isn't that stupid. They're heavily sanctioned and basically a dead market now that the Ruble has crashed. So there shouldn't be any business considerations. Not to mention ITAR, which…
The reason for Musk's behavior is that he has decided to Fight the Establishment. As a reminder, the Establishment is that poorly defined group of people and interests, centered on the left and right coasts of the US, that exists to promote the success of the American experiment. For a number of reasons, over the past few years, Musk has grown dissatisfied with it, and actively uses propaganda to weaken it. Musk admires Putin because he's an unapologetic power-leader and Musk wishes he could be, too. In Musk's mind, if we just put a small number of really bright people in charge, we'd be able to solve some hard problems like multi-homing humanity to deal with existential risks.
We should all be thankful that Elon is taking his money and burning it, because in doing so, he reduces the likelihood that he can have a significant negative effect on the stability that the Establishment brings.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#9> Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors
To this day the number of terminals supposedly _donated_ by Musk, that means not paid for by State Dep, is unknown. We do have this tho https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/08/us-quietl...
As of October 2022 there were 18k Starlink terminals in Ukraine. At the time State Department (USAID) paid for ~2K units, Poland paid for >12K units - over half of all terminals came from one relatively poor EU country, curious how this is omitted by Telegram :)
December 2022 number rose to 22K. Apparently as of June 2023 there are >40K terminals in use, with USAID share rising to at least ~5K.
Re: Musk considered pulling plug on Ukraine’s Starlink after ‘great talk with Putin’
#10> Satellite terminals donated by Mr Musk's SpaceX, as well as the US government and private donors To this day the number of terminals supposedly _donated_ by Musk, that means not paid for by State Dep, is unknown. We do have this tho https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/08/us-quietl... As of October 2022 there were 18k Starlink terminals in Ukraine. At the time State Department (USAID) paid for ~2K units,…
This is worth highlighting as it is often omitted in the news and even in official UA communication - Starlik was enabled in Ukraine by Musk, but around 20-40k terminals were purchased and monthly feels are continuously being paid by donor countries, mainly Poland with over 20k units.
There is no free lunch.