Is Elon A Russian Asset?

Is Elon Musk A Russian Asset? 

Few things in the history of this nation have divided us as starkly as the proxy war in Ukraine, but the brilliant and unpredictable billionaire Elon Musk is one of them. He offers nuanced opinions about the war, and he has the ability to act quickly within his sphere of scientific, communications and technology holdings.  

Musk provided Starlink capabilities to Ukraine early in the conflict. He says he offered this for humanitarian purposes, as Ukraine's internet was quickly disabled by the Russians. The network was provided at very little cost to Ukraine. The US DOD purchased some of the terminals which are used for military purposes. The Ukraine Starlink network is essential for Ukraine's operations today. The uses of the Starlink network now goes well beyond civilian humanitarian purposes and includes over 42,000 terminals, including those used for military communications. It is now utterly essential for Ukraine to have Starlink. 

The reach of the network does not, however, include Crimea, which Ukraine claims as its own territory, and which Russia claims it annexed in 2014. 

Ukraine has asked Musk to re-activate the network over Crimea. It is presumed that the reason Ukraine wants this capability again is to coordinate more missile and drone attacks onto the peninsula. Musk  provided a "peace plan" last year that was widely panned in mainstream media, and by Ukraine, but reflected a degree of neutrality of opinion not seen in Western diplomacy. 

Musk, not a fan of armed conflict despite his support for Ukraine, said no to using Starlink for active attacks on Russia,and deactivated the terminals in Crimea -- during an actual Ukrainian attack on it. According to his biography, Russia's ambassador let him know that should he allow Starlink for such attacks in Crimea, Ukraine west of the Dniepr would be incinerated.

While it can be disputed whether such a back-channel conversation between Russia and Musk actually ever happened, it is not uncommon in conflicts for serious communications to be sent through unconventional channels outside of the normal diplomatic ones. Musk, as CEO of Starlink, and born outside of the United States in South Africa (South Africa is a member of the BRICS, as a reminder), could be seen by Russian officials as a reasonable recipient of such a serious communication; and perhaps such messages could be sent to him as instructive not only to him but to the wider Western diplomatic community as well.

Elon has long expressed a desire for the conflict in Ukraine to end, to save lives, to find a diplomatic solution, and to avoid nuclear war.   

Glenn Greenwald has an instructive report discussing this situation. 

It is useful to remember that: Ukraine is not a NATO ally, it has no formal agreements with the United States for security guarantees, that Musk, SpaceX and Starlink are private companies, and that it is illegal for the US government to confiscate private assets without a court order.