The New York Times has an interesting piece out on SpaceX’s internet-beaming Starlink satellite constellation, and how governments are approaching its growing importance—warily.
As is by now well-known, Starlink has become integral to the Ukrainian war effort—“the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now,” as Ukrainian digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov told the Times—which has put SpaceX boss Elon Musk in a curious position of power, able to affect military strategy with the restrictions he decides to impose. As previously reported, concerns over Musk’s China business ties have also led Taiwan to look for other options when considering backup connectivity solutions.
What’s particularly interesting about the new article is that multiple European and Middle Eastern governments have been discussing Starlink with U.S. officials, with some expressing concern over Musk’s power over the system—though they reportedly won’t openly criticize him, “for fear of alienating” him.
Musk is clearly doing a lot right here, as evidenced by how much he annoyed the Iranian authorities by giving pro-democracy activists access to Starlink there. But the concerns over his mercurial nature and questionable allegiances are also of course merited, especially given the erratic decisions Musk has taken at the helm of Twitter/X.
It’s one thing to lament Twitter's demise and scoff at Musk's terrible branding choices—the latest of which is making X’s tagline “Blaze your glory,” which sounds like a misremembered Bon Jovi citation—and quite another to realize that the same mind can make life-or-death geopolitical decisions, and has governments scared to openly question him. Truly extraordinary.
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David Meyer
