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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Timothy Snyder

Elon Musk likes to think he saved us from Armageddon. He’s just brought it closer

Elon Musk, smiling
Elon Musk refused to extend the coverage of his Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian armed forces last autumn. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/AP

The Silicon Valley oligarch, perhaps the richest man in the world, extends a hand to his fellow oligarch, the man who has his finger on Russia’s nuclear button. They share a secret about the foolishness of the masses, and take action to save us all from ourselves. Thanks to the two of them, the world is saved from Armageddon.

Not the precis of a favourably reviewed work of dystopian fiction but a scenario presented as though it happened, in a biography of Elon Musk and its press campaign. Although neither Musk nor his biographer can get the story straight, it is true that the multibillionaire CEO of X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) refused to extend the coverage of his Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian armed forces last autumn.

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