In a development that will surprise absolutely no one who has watched Elon Musk tweet, a Wall Street Journal report says the SpaceX CEO personally ordered the throttling of a military-grade Starlink service used by Ukraine last week - despite Musk's public claim that all decisions on the military version are made by the US military and President Trump. Trump, for his part, denied ordering the restrictions, leaving the two most powerful men in the room pointing at each other while Ukraine's drones presumably flew in confused circles.
The WSJ reported yesterday that Musk made the final call, citing unnamed US officials and people familiar with the matter. The decision came after both Musk and Trump criticized Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries. "Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration," the WSJ wrote. The report said Musk "capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network… rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless."
Ukrainian officials say the restriction affected Starshield, the military satellite offering that uses Starlink technology. In this case, "speed" refers to the flight speed of drones. Per the Associated Press last week: "The cap, imposed without warning early Thursday, cuts the Internet data connection when a communication terminal moves faster than 160 kph (100 mph), which is common for Ukrainian drones equipped with Starshield… The restriction forced the drones to fly slower than usual, making it easier for Russian weapons to target or evade them." Because nothing says "defense contractor" like telling a drone it has to obey the speed limit.
One WSJ source said Musk spoke to Trump and White House officials before the decision. "Some US officials say that Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump didn't specifically order any retribution against Ukraine," the WSJ wrote. "But a person familiar with the situation said Musk talked to multiple senior administration officials, including with Trump, before imposing the new speed cap, which Ukrainian officials said had allowed Russian missiles to evade their defenses." CBS News yesterday said its sources indicated Musk "held multiple conversations with administration officials leading up to the order" and "wanted clarity on the president's thinking on the matter." Clarity, apparently, being a euphemism for a permission slip.
Musk denied making the decision last week, writing on October 14 that, unlike commercial Starlink, "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." Trump told reporters on October 16, "I didn't do that. No, we didn't do that at all… I heard about it through the news, through the media. We didn't slow it down at all." Asked again on Monday who ordered the slowdown, Trump responded, "I don't know who it was, but I'd like to find out." The investigation is reportedly proceeding at roughly 100 mph.
A Reuters report on October 15 stated that the "order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter." Yesterday's WSJ report suggests that after Ukraine complained, SpaceX and White House officials coordinated on messaging to minimize backlash. "During the uproar, SpaceX representatives called White House counterparts seeking a unified understanding and subsequent message that the company and Trump administration coordinated ahead of Musk's directive," the WSJ reported. Nothing builds confidence like a joint statement hastily assembled after the fact.
Musk's October 14 post said any "offensive military action" must rely on Starshield and not commercial Starlink. He has previously objected to certain US military uses of the commercial service. Starlink's dominance of the low-Earth orbit satellite broadband market - and its usefulness for military operations - has given Musk a unique ability to influence the war in Ukraine. Musk first sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine in February 2022 after the Russian invasion disrupted broadband access. SpaceX confirmed in 2023 that it had blocked Ukraine from using Starlink with military drones, saying its contract did not allow offensive uses. But in August 2024, SpaceX received a Pentagon contract to expand Ukraine's access to Starshield, according to Bloomberg. That deal, apparently the second such contract, reportedly allowed Ukraine to connect another 2,500 Starlink terminals to the Starshield network; Ukraine already had 500 terminals connected under a previous contract.
Despite those contracts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Saturday that Ukraine uses only Starlink and not Starshield. "I know Ukraine wants access to Starshield. They do not have Starshield now. They've asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia," Rubio said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Ukraine does use Starshield and that the new restrictions have not been completely lifted. He wrote in an X post on Monday that the limits affect "units using Starlink/Starshield services. Unfortunately, we have established that the equipment stops functioning at speeds of 130 - 161 kilometers per hour in various sectors of the front." Zelenskyy's office said in a press release yesterday that he spoke with Rubio by phone to discuss several topics, including "the situation with Starlink/Starshield, which needs to be restored."
Rubio told reporters today that "the president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk. That's a private company. The president doesn't run that company and can't direct that company to do anything." Rubio said the administration had "no foreknowledge" of the slowdown. The White House press office, when contacted by Ars, reiterated Trump's statement but provided no further details: "As President Trump said, we didn't slow down Starlink at all, and the service is currently operational." SpaceX has not responded to a request for comment. In related news, the speed limit on the information superhighway remains, as ever, subject to the whims of a man who once tweeted "pedo guy."