Elon Musk denies being close to Putin – critics doubt it

Created: 10/13/2022, 3:05 p.m

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Elon Musk, previously a generous supporter of Ukraine, appears to be increasingly siding with Putin, according to new reports.

Washington – Tech billionaire Elon Musk first assured the Ukrainians of his help – but now, according to several reports, he seems to have changed his mind.

In the past few days, Musk has swung more and more to the course of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine war: There are problems with Musk's Starlink satellites

On October 3, the Tesla boss published a plan for “peace” in Ukraine and wanted to put it to a vote on Twitter.

However, this plan rather played into the hands of Russian interests.

For example, the multi-billionaire suggested that Crimea be recognized as part of Russia and that Ukraine remain "neutral" - incurring the wrath of the Ukrainian government.

Musk's switch to the Russian side came as a surprise to many: Shortly after the start of the Ukraine war, Musk was still celebrated as a hero in the West because he gave Ukraine access to the Starlink satellites.

These run through Musk's company SpaceX, which made it possible for Ukraine to receive Internet via satellites and to maintain access to the World Wide Web despite Russian attacks.

The technology was also used in drone operations.

Now, however, the

is reporting that Musk's Starlink internet system has experienced outages in the areas recently retaken from the Ukrainians.

Many of the problems were reported from the Cherson and Zaporizhia regions.

The failures led in part to a "catastrophic loss of communication," wrote the

, citing a Ukrainian government official.

Elon Musk: 'I only spoke to Putin once'

A second report from the

website , citing policy consultancy Eurasia Group, previously reported that Musk spoke to Putin prior to his tweets on Ukraine's "peace plan."

Eurasia Group boss Ian Bremmer referred to information from Musk himself in a message to the company's customers.

The tech billionaire defended himself: That's not true, Musk wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

"I only spoke to Putin once and that was 18 months ago," he added.

It was about space travel. 

But Bremmer sticks to his statements.

“Elon Musk told me he spoke to Putin and the Kremlin about Ukraine.

He also told me what the Kremlin's 'red lines' are," he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

And he adds: "I have long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which I have also said publicly.

But he is not a geopolitical expert.”