New e-book says Musk ordered Starlink satellites turned off throughout Ukrainian assault

A brand new biography of billionaire Elon Musk sheds mild on how a lot management the tech mogul had over the battle in Ukraine.

The e-book, written by biographer Walter Isaacson, says Mr. Musk secretly instructed his engineers final yr to deactivate a Starlink community on the Crimean coast earlier than a Ukrainian sneak assault in opposition to Russian forces within the space.

The Ukrainian navy was utilizing the satellites to speak with anti-submarine drones. Once the Starlink community was deactivated, the submarines “washed ashore harmlessly,” based on the e-book.

Mr. Isaacson wrote that Mr. Musk was afraid of a “mini-Pearl Harbor” that might have resulted from the Ukranian assault. The SpaceX CEO felt that if the assault have been profitable, Russian forces would have countered with nuclear weapons.

The Ukrainian navy command was livid after studying Mr. Musk minimize off contact with the Starlink community and begged him to show entry again on. The deputy prime minister of Ukraine pleaded with Mr. Musk over textual content, detailing the need of the drones concentrating on the submarine. Although he was impressed with the expertise, Mr. Musk nonetheless refused to revive connectivity in Crimea.

If Mr. Isaacson’s e-book, titled “Elon Musk,” is true, the episode illustrates the facility the tech mogul has over communications within the battle in Eastern Europe. Mr. Musk initially was passionate about offering Ukraine with copious quantities of Starlink satellites after the Russian navy disrupted the nation’s communications methods shortly after its invasion in February 2022. After the Ukrainian navy started using the satellites, Mr. Musk modified his tune.

“Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars,” he instructed Mr. Isaacson. “It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.”