Elon Musk ordered Starlink ‘slowdown’ that sparked Ukraine ‘panic’ and ‘confusion’ in Trump admin: blockbuster report
Elon Musk ordered a “slowdown” to Starlink in Ukraine that set off a “panic” in the country and “confusion inside” the Trump administration.
The Wall Street Journal dropped a report on Tuesday diving into a disruption in Ukraine’s Starlink-internet service as they continue fighting a war with Russia.
According to U.S. officials and three people familiar with the situation, “Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration.”
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/elon-musk-ordered-starlink-slowdown-that-sparked-ukraine-panic-and-confusion-in-trump-admin-blockbuster-report/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
84 replies
An immigrant working in the defense industry took an action to aid an ally of an enemy the country has current ongoing conflicts with, causing a diplomatic incident.
Let's see those charges!
All these people talking about treason and accountability for Elon.... he's helping Russia. Russia is America's ally, not Ukraine. Ukraine is a smaller country, one that America wants to loot for minerals/resources once the war ends. Don Trump Jr married a Russian oligarch's asset, had a wedding party paid for by that oligarch. They are more than friends, they are family, in the same way that old 'royal' families settled disputes by marrying their children off.
Why would Elon's actions be considered treasonous/wrong, when he's helping America's friends? If Ukraine wanted to be friends with America, they should've sent busloads of young girls to the white house as tribute, not some war-weary Zelenski guy.
Just to be clear to any American thinking this is satirical -- it's not. America is friendly/helping dictators and fascists all over the place. Your country quite literally declared "Anti-fascists" the enemy. I don't think anyone would be at all surprised, for example, if Trump took a vacation to North Korea's weird 'resort' town, to hang out with Kim Jong.
The MAGA fucknuts wonder why the EU is abandoning US technology.
Do they? Do they even know about news regarding the EU?
We are beyond the time where we needed to nationalize starlink from that fuck, not that trump would do much better things with it..
I think we are beyond the time when the rest of the world needs to stop buying weapons systems from the US, altogether. What exactly are you paying for, if there's even the slightest chance they're going to sabotage you in the field?
This was starshield not starlink. Special satellites that are supposed to be owned by the US government and in their control.
If he unilaterally decided to alter starshield behavior, the US government should be losing its shit, and yes thats worthy of rationalizing starshield at least.
Altering starshield would be like the builder of patriot missiles preventing their launch while an incoming ballistic missle is about to hit you.
The blood of hundreds of innocent civilians is on Elon Musk's hands. He is truly a traitor to his country and humanity.
You see… this type of this doesn’t shame them. He knows damn well he’s responsive for fuck-tons of lives. But like all cowards, he doesn’t have to actually see them, or listen to the wailing children that he took their mothers and fathers from…
It’s a campy little video game to that piece of shit. He doesn’t have the balls to face his victims. None of them do. And trumps only saving grace is that he’s too fucking addled to barley remember not to shit himself in the presence women.
And we all know how good he as at video games.
When you say his country what are you talking about? He's not American or Ukrainian...and yes he absolutely deserves blame for issues in South Africa but that doesn't seem very relevant here to me.
If musk gave the order the admin told him to take the heat. Starshield, the military version, isn't controlled by Musk, and if he defied orders he would risk everything he has, without government contracts he is nothing.
How are we even debating this?
Because no one knows what's under the hood? They say it's fully controlled by the military, I have seen enough contractor shenanigans that I have doubts that true.
I am not saying Musk made the decision, in fact I think it's obvious Trump did. But I don't 100% know for a fact Musk couldn't.
Pretty sure Musk dampered Starlink.
He could I'm sure, he never would though on his own. It's a specious attempt at plausible deniability that no one, let alone us, should even entertain seriously.
But there was a thing in the Biden years where the military had to sit down with musk and get him to play ball on Ukraine I do recall. But that is different because Biden was weak, chosen to be weak, and wouldn't upset the oligarchic order under any circumstances.
They didn't need to sit Musk down to play ball.
Musk offered starlink to Ukraine for non military weapon usage on their commercial service for free. It had military use restrictions on it because as a commercial service it had to, and Musk didnt want it being used in Russian controlled territory because there were sanction against Russia, and yes, he was personally worried about the risks that invovled.
Being used as a weapon could land them in trouble and become an ITAR issue which could have destroyed SpaceX.
That ultimately led to Biden getting them using starshield instead so the military was the one paying and in control and they could authorize military usage for Ukraine in the military version of the service.
It should have always been starshield being used, but people were dragging their feet making that happen and happy to let SpaceX offer what they were for free.
But how can he even take the heat? US allies also use starshield. Telling him to take the heat is telling others using starshield the product is not what they are sold, unless they are all willing to keep the lie going and were told.
The only answer where anyone should ever consider using starshield ever again is that the US military or Trump ordered it.
Maybe nationalize it and NOT militarize it. Just sayin'.
This is rational. Pushing for WWIII* is not rational.
I'm fine with WWII. The Nazis will lose again.
Agreed.
Nazis are everywhere. The question is, how much power they have.
Pic unrelated.
Because you think I'm MAGA. TRY AGAIN.
The problem with Ukraine is that this small hateful minority have had a stranglehold on the government and war since the 2014 coup.
Slava Ukraini
Glory to In Ukraine and the "heroes", huh ? Слава Україні Героям слава????
Where have I heard this before?
Oh yeah....
American liberals are only NIMBY about Nazis. They love them "over there".
It was just a little treason. Billionares will be billionares, right? Think of his future.
he would just do this in front of the court and get off scot free because "he learned his lesson"
Sped up like this, it looks like he’s sneezing. He’s even doing that thing where he puts his hand up in the air as he feels it coming on, like everyone’s dad does.
The administration made the call. Jesus christ, how fucking stupid are we that we believe the administration lies put out that they didn't do this.
First of all, they control starshield, the military version. Second, if musk ordered it, he was told to by the administration, that just made a deal with russia. I shouldn't have to explain that.
Even the left are fucking sheep apparently.
Musk denied it was him, Trump is trying to shift the blame away from himself. Let them throw each other under the bus.
Cancelled Netflix. This is about to get real entertaining.
Musk and the second Trump admin are one in the same, as is the admin and the heritage foundation, as is the admin and Thiel, as is the admin and Putin, as is the admin and Netanyahu.
You're the sheep for differentiating between them all. Yes they all want to be above each other and all else but they still all have the same goals and are all working together against you, everyone and everything else. These people have openly stated that they would gladly destroy the planet as long as it's done by themselves for the greatest creation of capital and control that would ever exist.
Can we compromise and put them both on a rocket out of the solar system?
Guillotines are more environmentally friendly.
This fuck should be tried at the Hague.
that's why they banned the ICC from their Microsoft cloud
If this is true, and it wasnt the DoD, how on earth could they keep using starshield.
The whole fucking point of starshield is they own and operate it.
This is breaking like core tenant of what it is.
Such an idiotic move if true.
Edit: like earlier there were reports Musk suggested it to trump or whatever. Still horrible, but at least that kept control within the DoD which would keep the illusion they are in control.
Yes, Musk reportedly alteady said this wasn’t him, because he has no control. So someone is lying. On Par.
Why is it so unfathomable to everybody that both Musk and the Trump admin wanted this. It's like Musk and Maga blaming and accusing each other for the Epstein stuff...both are simultaneously lieing and telling the truth, both are involved and both are the problem.
I would like it if Ukraine sent a drone into Musk. He is an proven enemy agent.
The Ukrainians punch well above their weight in espionage and sabotage dating back to the Soviet days. This is an existential conflict for them. I would not put it past them to target individuals they consider enemies.
the boss of future warfare
Interfering with a nations at war is a serious issue and he should definitely be held accountable. He should be acting as a common carrier. Deciding to turn off or slow access during wartime should absolutely have serious consequences with jail time and fines as well as the possibility of his service getting nationalized.
The fact that he has no fear and thinks he can do whatever he wants when Daddy Putin comes calling is ridiculous.
Isn't confusion the default state of the Trump admin?
That piece of shit needs to be drawn and quartered Braveheart-Style.
Need to bring back Blood Eagles.
Time to nationalize Starlink if he's gonna be fascist about it.
My feeling is that Putin had people tell Trump that Putin would be grateful (sell cheap diesel that Russia got from Iran, pump up the right-wing botfarms, arrange a shiny gold medal) if Trump got Starlink restricted, now that Ukraine was hitting Russia's dual-use infrastructure so hard. And Trump mentioned it to Musk, and Musk took Starlink down for Ukraine.
So when questions started getting asked, Musk said he didn't order it (because Trump made that call), and Trump said he didn't order it (because he works like a Mafia boss, "be a shame if something happened ..."), and since everything was back-channeled, no one else knows what was going on.
I suppose the success rate must be phenomenal of that russian botnet to warrant the actions they are taking just before midterms. Its either that or they are desperate.
Add it to the list (of things democrats should investigate if they ever gain back power).
Musk denied it. Now we know for certain he is a corrupt liar like all the other criminals in power today.
Always was.
I cannot believe I'm reading this article. How is this not treason? How is this not giving our enemies aid and comfort? Pulling back the ability of a strategic partner to defend themselves against Russia. If something like this doesn't deserve the strongest pushback and consequences I don't know what does.
We are not actually at war with Russia. That's it. Without that, it can't be treason in the U.S.
If we were at war with Russia...we'll, he has a lot of wealth. I think that also means laws don't apply to him.
Russia's openly sabotaging all NATO members, and NATO is the US's former means of power projection in Europe, WE aren't at war with them, but they have no problem being at war with us.
True, but as far as the requirements for treason, we would have to be at war with them.
Russia is definitely our enemy.
No question, but we're not at war.
Damn.
How not one person has gotten close enough to land a single punch into this loser's mouth is baffling... that's all he needs. He needs his ass kicked and his phone taken away. That's it. There's no more to this "mystical genius". Take it as that. He's a loser who is getting revenge for his past and unfortunately millions of people are suffering because of it. He doesn't care. Fuck Elon Musk, the barrel-chested gooner.
He’s an ugly fuck with a disgusting body and a botched dick like honestly he believes he’s a genius and peak man when he’s an old sack of blubber that couldn’t fight a freshman wrestler from high school.
He thinks he's Tony Stark, he's not even a good discount Justin Hammer. And I do mean the movie one.
These men are only alive because you allow it
*You allow it, I’m not a fuckin impotent weirdo on the internet
Of all things Trump has done, this I care about the absolute least.
I live on the other side of the world and personally know 2 people that have been killed by this war, and possibly a 3rd that no-one has heard of for ages
can I ask you to bend over
On the other side of the world FROM Ukraine?
This war has seen the lowest civilian death rate than any major conflict in modern history. War sucks, but this is what it looks like when you wage war against an adversary you still see as human. Opposite of Gaza.
To the people in the Donbass this is a war of liberation, not annihilation.
There's not much worth fighting and dying for, but democracy sure isn't the worst.
Of course you don't, because you're a fascist supporting dictatorships.
How very convenient for you
Dafuq?
Ukrainian men can't even leave. They're dressing like old women in public. They're drowning in rivers trying to escape.
No voting. All opposition parties are banned. All opposition media has been seized by the government.
An impossible victory or an inevitable death.
How convenient for you.
https://busification.org/en
Did you get banned from .world lol?
Blockbuster report that will result in no action.
Need people to be strong enough to confront America, that'll only happen after the countrys gone bankrupt. Which may take some time even under Donald.
Elon Shrugged
Musk must be at least slightly upset by the latest missile attack by Russia on Ukraine. The children killed were white! His DOGE cuts on USAid proved he prefers to have a hand in non-white children dying.
You forgot that there are multiple rungs in the priority ladder of the Loser Nazi. It's Money -> ... -> Children -> ... -> Non-white Children
Good!