The mercurial billionaire turned off Starlink communications just ahead of a submersible drone attack, thinking that the assault might unleash nuclear war, according to a forthcoming book.

クロスポスト: https://hexbear.net/post/539800

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk reportedly caused a geopolitical crisis last year, when Ukrainian forces—which have relied heavily on the company’s Starlink satellite communications—were on the verge of striking Russian naval vessels off the coast of Crimea with submersible drones. Concerned that the attack would provoke Russia into using nuclear weapons, Musk unilaterally opted to sever the submarines’ satellite connection, throwing a wrench in the entire assault.

The incident—shared by CNN based on an adapted excerpt from an upcoming book by Walter Isaacson—demonstrates Musk’s increasing unwillingness to lend his satellite network to offensive maneuvers waged by Ukraine. “How am I in this war?” “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.”

After foiling the attack, Musk reportedly received a desperate text from a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who asked that Musk reinstate the Starlink connection to the drones. “I just want you—the person who is changing the world through technology—to know this,” Fedorov wrote. But Musk refused to reverse course, telling Fedorov that Ukraine “is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat.”

Apparently he was worried that the assault would provoke nuclear war. Musk showing actual thought for the first time in ever.

  • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    Always exercise critical skepticism when reading "news" like this. There is no telling how much if any of it is actually true or whether it's some kind of psyop bullshit. And i would certainly not take someone like Musk at their word as to their alleged motivation for doing what is claimed that they did.

  • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    Anyone else concerned for the Musk / NAFO fans confused as to how they're supposed to pick a side but none of it makes sense because that would require a nuanced view? Nah, me neither.

  • Star Wars Enjoyer @lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    This whole situation feels like copium for the failing CO.

    Like fuck Musk, of course, but at this point it's hard to ignore that Ukraine's having a rough time. So Liberals are going to look for anything they can to make excuses, not unlike how Neo-Nazis make excuses for Germany's failure in WWII, by blaming the weather or pitting the blame for failure on one or two figures.

    Starlink also sucks, it's genuinely horrid internet. It's only useful if you're far from cell signal and you want to access social media or streaming services, and at that, only if you're willing to accept buffering and snail-slow speeds. It's not something a military would want to exclusively use for coordination. Ukraine's military probably has its own internet, and its own secondary lines of communication. Blaming Starlink outages is simply illogical.

    • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      1 year ago

      One way of reading the 'news' is as a giant advert for Starlink. So powerful it can tip the scales of war. Now (a) do what the imperialists tell you to do, otherwise they'll turn their power against you and (b) don't forget to buy the platinum subscription package for course-of-history-changing results.

    • KiG V2@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      1 year ago

      "Blame the weather" it hit me like a brick realizing this is actually what these losers did 😭😭😭😭

  • NothingButBits@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    Seems like another wonder weapon that would've fixed everything. There's been countless wonder weapons sent to Ukraine that ended up being useless.

  • 小莱卡@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    why do they depend on starlink lol? are these "smart" drones that need to be connected to the internet? 😂

  • Vaggumon@lemm.ee
    ·
    1 year ago

    Fun fact: During World War II, those who aided and abetted the enemy, usually got 2 in the brain.

    • redline@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      1 year ago

      This is a fantasy... both General Motors and Ford profited off the nazi war machine and, as has been mentioned: these investments were protected by the U.S. government under pressure from business interests.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/nov98/nazicars30.htm

  • COMHASH@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    Well I was watching out Elon tweets last year, he was very worried about NAFO and the nuke war which was provoked by media propagandists that Putin was going to use nukes and Russia is losing the war ASAP. He is an oligarch but at least he had sense when most of socdems had lost their minds over Russia.

  • darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    1 year ago

    I have to be honest. Musk as much as he's an absolute ass is also making the types of moves I like to see to enable a continued globalized world. He's the kind of bourgeoisie I hope wins the struggles ahead because he's preferable to the alternatives for a soft US empire implosion. He just keeps on doing things that I can't help but cheer, not because they're objectively good in a vacuum but because they're creating the best conditions and/or navigating the conditions making the best choices for AES and the global south freeing themselves.

      • darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        1 year ago

        He's broadly anti-decoupling with China to my knowledge. Somewhat willing to say good things about China. I mean he see's Chinese things like Ali-pay/WeChat and wants to emulate them. Being against escalation against Russia is also good actually.

        He's like Trump and I'm honestly not sure how people here are not getting that was what I was saying. I mean I'm not going to trip over myself to disown him anymore than I have already. I shouldn't have to because there should be some critical thought given.

        Do you have any evidence he is a hawk? Of the variety who would advocate using nuclear weapons or something to avoid giving up US hegemony (as many of the more silent bourgeoisie who control the US government and defense contractors would tend to be) as opposed to a self-serving but also self-defeating capitalist who can't stop gorging himself off the profit potential of staying linked with China. I mean I hope he and others like him are like that and continue to exist. I guess as an ML I can't help but be a bit optimistic that some of the bourgeoisie are selling us rope even in this day and age.

        I mean there are degrees here. I don't know if wandering liberals have downvoted me or what but I think what I said speaks for itself and honestly I don't like Musk, so I'm not really going to compile a list of "why communists should think this guy is useful", it's just not worth my time and it was just musing. It was my hot-take. I don't believe it to be incorrect, no one has really hit me with anything that changes my view.

      • darkcalling@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        1 year ago

        Admittedly I did forget that but it doesn't change the larger picture. Also I really doubt he instigated that incident. He's just a loud-mouth.

        Look, he's not a friend. But he's like Trump, says things and takes positions strangely contrary to the hawks /at times/. Besides that his fan-boys go nuts and have melt-downs over this so it's all very amusing. If you think he's the worst because he's a loudmouth you're objectively not paying attention and you are a liberal and there's no quibbling over that because that's not material analysis.

        Come to think of it, he kind of resembles Trump in another way, he has this huge ego and interest in building a brand off his name, not directly like Trump but he does things like sell himself, get himself in Star Trek episodes, goes out of his way to get others to stroke his ego, has a craving for being seen as very smart, very capable, a genius.

        I don't get why people here are losing their minds over my saying that maybe uh he's useful in certain ways and I enjoy him not shutting up and being a quiet bourgeoisie. If anything his talking continues to do a lot to ruin his own efforts.

        He seems pro-China. This isn't because he's a good person but that doesn't matter.

        People will critically support Iran despite the fact they execute communists, homosexuals, and disobedient women yet I say this Musk fool has his utilities and it's nice he's saying this and pushing these things and people lose their damn minds as If I'm fan-girling for him instead of simply making observations that he's taking positions that while probably born out of self-interest and his own pompous arrogance are good actually. Some bourgeoisie are liable to at times sell us large quantities of ropes not because they want us to use them but because it lets them profit.

        But this thread seems like it's been brigaded by liberals so whatever.

        • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          1 year ago

          For what it's worth i can understand what you're trying to say and after giving it some thought i think i basically agree. He's a piece of shit but he's just stupid and egotistical enough to be detrimental for the overall capitalist-imperialist project. A "useful idiot", if i may borrow that phrase which liberals love so much.