Transcript: Is Elon Musk ‘Being Played’ by Vladimir Putin?

Over the past year or so, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system has become increasingly important—and valuable. It’s been in the news lately because Ukrainian officials said the Kremlin was using it to help its war effort in parts of occupied Ukraine—something Musk has denied. At the same time, Musk has repeatedly said the US should stop aiding Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s two-year invasion, an opinion shared by many right-wing Republican politicians. Starlink has also been approved to work in another conflict zone, as Israel gave permission for a Starlink terminal to be parked in a field hospital in Gaza.

With all of the attention on Starlink’s role in war comes another, related question: how financially important is the product to Musk’s overall business empire? To talk about these questions, Elon, Inc. welcomed to the panel Marc Champion, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who has written about Musk’s role when it comes to both Ukraine and Russia, and Ed Ludlow, a Bloomberg technology reporter.