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Elon Musk’s contracts with the federal government are extraordinarily lucrative, but he has clearly shown his willingness to act contrary to U.S. interests.
One private American citizen’s decision purportedly turned off the bands of the electronic spectrum that Ukrainian forces rely upon for drone operations at the front lines, just as a new Russian offensive kicked off. That same man controls the United States’ primary capability to get cargo and astronauts into space. His contracts with the Pentagon and NASA, including an agreement to develop satellites capable of tracking intercontinental ballistic missiles, are worth billions of dollars.
As his influence and willingness to wield it increase, Elon Musk’s eccentric views on foreign policy and erratic behavior present a strategic vulnerability to the United States.
Musk won great praise early last year for sending Starlink terminals to Ukraine and providing secure network access to a nation battling for its right to exist. But while public relations efforts from Starlink implied that these were provided by the company as a charitable venture, the truth was more complicated – the U.S. government paid millions for a significant portion of the equipment as well as its transportation costs to Ukraine.