This past week, a letter sent by Elon Musk to the Pentagon proving SpaceX’s apprehension about the funding of the Starlink program went public. Not only has the program become ingrained in their military procedures, but it has provided a crucial internet system to citizens as well. By dangling the security of Ukraine right in front of them, Musk has proved that the most dude bro billionaire in the world has far too much power at his disposal.
Starlink is Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, intended to bring high-speed internet to remote and rural areas that were previously inaccessible to infrastructure-based internet. The program was used in Ukraine, early during the Russian invasions, as Ukraine’s networks had been destroyed in the conflict.
In response to a tweet from Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Musk sent thousands of Starlink satellite dishes to Ukraine. Since then, Starlink has been a crucial part of the Ukrainian defense effort, not only helping Ukrainian citizens stay connected to each other, but allowing their military to communicate and control wartime drones.
Elon Musk’s request for the Pentagon to pay for Ukraine’s Starlink program indefinitely was made public on Oct. 14. The letter stated that Starlink would cost $124 million for the rest of 2022, on top of the $100 million that SpaceX has invested on the project already. It was also revealed that most of the Starlink terminals sent to Ukraine had been fully or partially funded by the U.S. government, the U.K. and Poland.
Musk rescinded this request a few days later. Previously, Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, lied stating that the U.S. wasn’t giving any money to the Starlink program’s effort in Ukraine.
SpaceX’s vague comments regarding the shareholders, assisting them with Starlink, are part of their effort to craft the narrative that Elon Musk is a virtuous hero. By removing the governmental aid attached to his technology, Elon Musk gets to play the role of the savior — the man who can give an entire country the tools they need to win a crucial war. It’s this false narrative that’s allowed him to stick his nose into politics and have policy conversations with world leaders without any blowback.
One such instance was Musk’s recent tweet proposing a Ukraine-Russia peace plan, which most notably included Ukraine giving up Crimea to Russia. Tensions over Crimea initiated the war between Ukraine and Russia, specifically when Moscow illegally annexed the territory in 2014. For Ukraine to give it back would be to surrender and to disrespect the lives sacrificed in the war thus far. Elon’s suggestion was a slap in the face to the Ukrainian people. Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk swiftly replied to Elon’s proposal with, “F**k off is my very diplomatic reply to you.”
While SpaceX’s letter to the Pentagon was sent prior to the Twitter exchange, Musk responded to SpaceX’s letter going public by tweeting that he was just following the diplomat’s recommendations and removing himself from the Ukraine situation.
Musk didn’t back out of Starlink because of this exchange, but his snarky remark insinuates that the blame falls on Melnyk and it seems immensely inappropriate. Musk’s pettiness only proves that he can’t handle being criticized when he oversteps his bounds.
Musk also has an inability to stop himself from live-tweeting every thought he has. He even proclaimed through Twitter that SpaceX would continue funding Starlink, even though he stated that Starlink is losing money and other companies get taxpayer support — insinuating that SpaceX does not, which is a blatant lie — and that SpaceX would continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free. His social presence on Twitter has become so notorious that many people know him as the billionaire that makes funny tweets.
Musk’s obsession with Twitter is a calculated ploy to earn more social padding by building an image as the rare funny, cool and quirky billionaire with a strong social media presence. This extends to his takeover of Twitter, since which he has slashed four top Twitter execs, including the chief executive.
Not only does Musk crave the social cushioning of Twitter likes, but he needs to hold control of the platform itself to shape the narratives people like him are allowed to spread. His intentions to relax rules on content show that he is unable to handle regulation against ideas he agrees with, and that he needs the tools to manipulate the platform in order to maintain his social power.
His involvement in Starlink is another intentional power grab, too. Creating an internet system that is solely responsible for people who otherwise can’t have an internet connection gives him immense power over a desperate segment of the world population. When Musk promises to grant war-torn countries internet that they could never get otherwise, one can only worry about what he’ll do to make them keep it.
Ultimately, Elon Musk’s involvement with Ukraine proves that he cannot be trusted with the influence he possesses. SpaceX has threatened to set up a dangerous precedent by leaving world governments no other choice but to fund their projects when it’s no longer profitable.
From now on, we should doubt SpaceX’s intentions and promises for our own protection. SpaceX evidently prioritizes profit over human lives, so putting our trust in them is dangerous. If the rewards for their actions don’t outweigh the costs, people like Musk will always put themselves first.
Layla Asgarian Nahavandi is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at lasgaria@uci.edu.
