Author Clarifies Excerpt from Upcoming Book about Elon Musk
Introduction
Author Walter Isaacson recently took to social media to provide clarification on an excerpt from his upcoming book, “Elon Musk.” This excerpt received significant backlash due to its description of how Musk allegedly stopped a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, according to Isaacson’s excerpt, instructed engineers to disable Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea last year to disrupt a Ukrainian military initiative. This occurred during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments were supplying Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems.
Musk later expressed his concerns about Starlink’s involvement in wars, stating that it was not intended for such purposes.
Clarification on the Starlink Issue
In a recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Isaacson shared additional details to clarify the Starlink issue. He stated that the Ukrainians believed Starlink coverage extended to Crimea but discovered that it was not enabled. They requested Musk to activate it for their drone submarine attack on the Russian fleet. However, Musk decided against enabling it, as he believed it could potentially lead to a major war.
It’s important to note that Crimea is a peninsula on the Black Sea that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It houses Russia’s Black Sea warships. Following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the Black Sea fleet launched missile strikes on Ukrainian coastal cities and imposed a devastating naval blockade.
Reactions to the Excerpt
Isaacson’s clarification came after a top aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Musk over the excerpt. The aide accused Musk of allowing the Russian military fleet to launch missile attacks on Ukrainian cities by not interfering with Starlink.
Isaacson’s complete book will be released on Tuesday.
Read the full excerpt in the Washington Post.