How Mr. Musk developed as geopolitical chaos agent?
The richest man, Mr. Elon Musk, in the world has involved himself in some of the most explosive conflicts ever.
Elon Musk has proposed a Russia-Ukraine peace plan in the past four weeks, which Ukrainian officials find repugnant. He tweeted about the availability of the internet in Iran, which exposed government demonstrators to a phishing attempt.
Additionally, he stated in a newspaper interview that China may be placated if granted some degree of sovereignty over Taiwan. A Taipei official asked that he withdraw his recommendation.
In recent months, Mr. Musk has become a new, disorganised actor on the stage of world affairs. While many rich business leaders like tweeting their opinions on current events, none can match Mr. Musk’s power or capacity to stir up problems. He has occasionally entered situations despite being cautioned not to and has already caused a lot of disasters in his wake.
While Mr. Musk’s interest in his electric vehicle firm, Tesla, accounts for the majority of his money, his rocket company, SpaceX, which manages the Starlink satellite network, is largely responsible for his influence. Starlink, which beams internet service to tense areas and geopolitical flashpoints, has established itself as a crucial asset for the Ukrainian army.
With the completion of the purchase of Twitter, Mr. Musk’s power will increase. He has referred to himself as an ardent supporter of free expression, and it is anticipated that he will moderate Twitter’s content with restraint.
Many of his detractors believe that it is difficult to distinguish between Mr. Musk’s political views and his financial interests, particularly when it comes to Tesla, which is becoming more and more reliant on China.
Karen Kornbluh, a director at the German Marshall Fund and a former adviser to President Barack Obama, asserted that “technology has become crucial to geopolitics.” “Elon Musk is in the middle of everything, and it’s interesting and messy.”
How Mr. Musk developed as geopolitical chaos agent?
Mr. Musk has occasionally been a blessing. Earlier this year, he funded at least a portion of the infrastructure and service for Starlink internet connection in Ukraine, giving both civilians and soldiers a vital tool for communication during the ongoing conflict with Russia.
However, the messages he has conveyed have also led to issues. He abruptly changed his mind after saying last week that he could not “indefinitely” fund Ukraine’s use of Starlink in a tweet.
Mr. Musk visited The Weekend, a private gathering in Aspen, toward the end of last month. The gathering of American corporate and political figures, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, was partially organised by former Google CEO and government adviser Eric Schmidt.
Two people who attended the event and spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Mr. Musk took the stage for a wide-ranging chat with the wealthy businessman David Rubenstein at lunchtime under a tent on a golf course.
To the surprise of many in attendance, Mr. Musk ended the discussion by suggesting a peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine that would allow Russia to take Ukrainian territory, appearing to side with the Kremlin.
How Mr. Musk developed as geopolitical chaos agent?
According to attendees, many at the event were horrified by the concept. Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security advisor, gave a video speech at the gathering the following day, when a questioner brought up Mr. Musk’s peace plan.
According to a National Security Council official, Mr. Sullivan made no comments regarding Mr. Musk’s remarks made during the event. However, Mr. Musk announced his strategy on Twitter ten days later. The Kremlin openly endorsed the notion.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his closest advisers sharply criticised Mr. Musk’s scheme. However, his shifting allegiances placed them in a bind because the Ukrainian Army now relies heavily on Starlink terminals for communication.
A number of inquiries for comment went unanswered from Mr. Musk.
According to four persons with knowledge of the situation, the army lost Starlink connectivity in some locations close to the front lines in mid-September as it expanded into southern regions that had previously been held by Russia. Two of them said that this was as a result of Mr. Musk having “geofenced” the service to make it exclusively available in specific locations. Others in Ukraine stated that the satellite system was functioning normally, thus it was unclear why it wasn’t.
According to the sources, Mr. Musk has discussed the issue with both the Ukrainian and the American governments in an effort to identify the sites where the army will have access to Starlink. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department, the National Security Council, and “officials across the U.S. government have spoken to Starlink and answered questions regarding U.S. policy like we do with other corporations,” according to a spokesman for the council.
This month, Mr. Musk caused more confusion for Ukraine when he claimed he could no longer afford to pay for Starlink service to the nation, giving the impression that he was footing the bill. In fact, according to a document summarising the expenses examined by The New York Times, the United States, Britain, and Poland have paid SpaceX for at least a portion of the Starlink cost.
Dimitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a geopolitical think tank in Washington, said, “He has to decide whether Starlink is a commercial service that occasionally offers lifesaving technology to its customers or a service that is highly dependent on the geopolitical interests of its management and, thus, unreliable for customers who have concerns over national security.”
Mr. Musk intervened in the protests in Iran when he was in Aspen outlining his strategy for ending the conflict in Ukraine.
He seemed to come to the rescue as protests grew around the nation and the government responded by restricting internet access in some places. After the U.S. government lifted some sanctions that restricted American tech companies’ ability to operate in Iran so they could support demonstrators, he wrote on Twitter, “Activating Starlink.”
Bypassing the government’s ban on land-based internet connections, which had disconnected Iranians in several cities, was possible through Starlink.
But as many Iranians quickly discovered, Mr. Musk’s assurance fell short. Mr. Musk remained silent on the specifics of what was required to launch Starlink, how long it would take, and why Iranian government restrictions would make it difficult to provide the service widely inside Iran.
According to Amir Rashidi, an Iranian expert on digital rights, while Starlink was still unavailable in Iran, hackers allegedly connected to the government started a phishing campaign by sending messages through social media channels with links that claimed to give access to Starlink. According to Mr. Rashidi, who examined at least five versions of the malware, the links were spyware that ate data from the victims’ phones rather than giving access to Mr. Musk’s satellite system.
A tweet by Mr. Musk suggested that Starlink service would be available to Iranian people after protests there led the authorities to limit internet access in several places.
Thanks to the Associated Press, according to Mr. Rashidi, equipment that was smuggled across the border has allowed for some Starlink internet connection to be made available in Iran. Because the satellite signals may be able to be linked to people on the ground, this is raising more questions about how easily the authorities will be able to identify the data broadcast.
Mr. Rashidi, who left the nation in 2009, praised Mr. Musk for his efforts but criticised his methods as “extremely irresponsible.”
Without considering the repercussions, the individual only wanted to shout, “I’m doing something wonderful,” he claimed.
Additionally, Mr. Musk just entered Taiwan, which is arguably the world’s most volatile geopolitical region.
The risks to Elon Musk’s economic empire are enormous due to the tensions between China and Taiwan. Up to 50% of Tesla’s new cars are made at a factory in Shanghai, which is run by the corporation. Western corporations’ operations in China are strictly regulated by the Beijing government, and analysts have long been concerned about how Mr. Musk’s political views may be impacted by Tesla’s reliance on China.
When he told the Financial Times that the Chinese government had made it obvious that it did not approve of his giving Starlink internet service in Ukraine, Mr. Musk confirmed this month that he had come under pressure from Beijing. He claimed that Beijing wanted guarantees that he wouldn’t provide the service in China.
He then suggested giving China partial control over Taiwan as a means of defusing the situation.
The remark, which clearly contradicts American and ally policy, sparked rapid criticism from Taiwanese authorities.
How Mr. Musk developed as geopolitical chaos agent?
Chao Tien-Lin, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party and the foreign affairs and defence committee of the Taiwanese legislature, demanded that Mr. Musk withdraw his statement in a phone conversation with The New York Times. If he doesn’t, I honestly advise all customers in free democracies to boycott Tesla and its associated products, not just Taiwan, the man stated.
Some have noted that the Taiwanese, like the Ukrainians, may ask Mr. Musk to offer an emergency method of communication using satellite internet if a military war breaks out between the two sides.
Starlink, though, might not be a possibility given Mr. Musk’s stated stance on the matter and his connections to China.
