More lately, the richest man in the world ventured into riskier geopolitical waters by making baffling suggestions to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resolve Taiwan’s sovereignty disputes.
His tweets and other outspoken remarks have infuriated foreign ministers and presidents throughout Europe while, oddly, receiving plaudits from America’s adversaries.
Musk is currently increasing once again and backing up his claims: He threatened to stop funding SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet service in Ukraine on Friday, depriving the nation of a crucial communication channel in its conflict with Russian soldiers.
Although Musk is not the first American corporate executive or celebrity to become involved in foreign affairs, it is more difficult to ignore him due to his riches, propensity for mischief, and multibillion dollar defence contracts.
It’s a phenomena that, if Musk’s $44 billion offer to purchase Twitter Inc. altogether is accepted, will only become worse. By directly owning the platform, he would be able to influence the discussion in ways he hasn’t been able to.
When questioned through email about the accusation that his remarks deal with delicate geopolitical and diplomatic issues, Musk said, “When did Bloomberg News become useless trash?”
Under the condition of anonymity, a State Department official said that American diplomats are well aware of Musk’s contentious remarks and that they make it clear to allies and close partners that the high-profile executive’s remarks are those of a private citizen and do not represent the views of the Biden administration.
According to Jon Bateman, senior fellow for technology and international affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “Starlink and Twitter are both minor in terms of worldwide adoption but have outsized relevance for important nations and constituencies.” All of this suggests that Musk’s recent statements on foreign politics, which were at best ignorant, cannot be simply disregarded.
There is little doubt that Musk’s statements have weight, regardless of whether he is speaking in an official role or not.
There have been many concerns about his motivations for getting involved given his high-level connections around the globe and his considerable economic influence, particularly after Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer claimed in a widely read newsletter that he had spoken with SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Later, Musk tweeted that this assertion was untrue and that he hadn’t talked to Putin in 18 months, and even then, it had just been to discuss space. In a later tweet, Bremmer reiterated his claim, saying that Musk had “told me he has spoken with Putin and the kremlin personally about Ukraine.”
Bremmer stated, “He also informed me what the Kremlin’s red lines were,” implying that at least Russian authorities may have thought of him as a back channel.
When questioned about a potential call between the businessman and Putin, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded, “I’ll let Mr. Musk speak for his talks.” He’s obviously not speaking for the American government in those meetings,
