Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced questioning from CNN’s Jake Tapper regarding revelations in Walter Isaacson’s biography on Elon Musk. The book claims that Musk sabotaged a Ukrainian attack on the Russian navy in Crimea by refusing access to the Starlink satellite network, which he owns. While Blinken did not directly confirm the incident, he praised Starlink as a valuable tool for the Ukrainian military in defending their territory. However, the fact remains that Crimea is Ukrainian territory illegally occupied by Russia.
In an article for The New Yorker, journalist Ronan Farrow reported that the US government treats Musk as an unelected official due to his significant impact on national security and policy priorities. This raises concerns among foreign governments, including Ukraine, which has privately expressed reservations about Musk’s control of Starlink. The dependency on corporate benefactors and billionaires like Musk is a consequence of the reduction in state investment in research and development over the past few decades.
The issue at hand is not solely Musk’s unpredictable influence but the need to defer to a billionaire CEO in the first place. The democratic principle dictates that there should be no unelected officials governing a nation. Yet, Musk’s wealth and holdings have placed him in a position of power, despite lacking the people’s consent. While Musk claims discomfort with Starlink’s use in warfare, his company SpaceX has made millions from the US government to provide Starlink access to Ukraine.
The potential financial consequences for Musk if he clashes further with Russia are unknown. However, it is known that Tesla, his other company, obtains aluminum from a Russian supplier. Russia often uses the threat of nuclear war to dissuade Western involvement in Ukraine. Nevertheless, an attack similar to the one Musk allegedly feared did occur, but it did not escalate into a global conflict.
Critics argue that abrogating such responsibility to a profit-driven individual like Musk comes at a high price. The refusal to allow Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian fleet through Starlink interference may have led to civilian casualties. This highlights the consequences of letting a profit-oriented actor control crucial technologies with geopolitical significance.
(Source: This article has been rewritten based on the provided information.)