Elon Musk reportedly made a surprise guest appearance on a call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, solidifying the Tesla chief executive’s role as the most influential civilian in the country come January.
Musk was present with Trump during the call for roughly 25 minutes, according to Axios, which first reported the call. Trump handed Musk the phone and Musk and Zelenskyy spoke briefly. On the call, Zelenskyy thanked Musk for the satellites he had been providing Ukraine through his company, Starlink, according to AFP. Musk said he would continue to provide satellite internet connection, the report said.
Musk, who campaigned vigorously for Trump, has a mixed record on matters relating to Russia’s war on Ukraine. The billionaire initially provided Ukraine internet connection through Starlink satellites for free, with the help of funding from several other entities including the US government.
Zelenskyy’s call with Trump was, reportedly, otherwise reassuring for the Ukraine president. Trump told Zelenskyy that he would continue to support Ukraine, though he did not go into details, according to Axios. In a statement, Zelenskyy said he praised Trump and his team for their successful campaign.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation,” he tweeted. “Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”
Which @elonmusk do you like more?
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 3, 2022
Musk’s words and actions have at times been ambivalent regarding support for Ukraine. According to a biography by Walter Isaacson, Musk later refused to activate the satellites over Crimea in response to an emergency request from Ukraine. Musk said the refusal was to avoid making SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, “complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation”.
Musk had also tweeted what he presented as plan for peace but what experts had described as pro-Kremlin talking points. Zelenskyy responded by posting a poll on X asking his followers which Musk they liked more, the one who supports Russia or Ukraine.
Most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin since 2022. It’s unclear what the two have discussed, but Starlink has been a topic of conversation in at least one case, according to the Journal, and Putin asked Musk not to activate Starlink over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Musk responded to a post on X about the story and said: “Welp, the Swamp’s ‘Trump is Hitler’ didn’t work. Might as well give ‘Elon is a Russian agent’ a whirl.”
I had an excellent call with President @realDonaldTrump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work.
We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 6, 2024
