CNN Exclusive: 'How am I in this war?': New Musk biography offers fresh details about the billionaire's Ukraine dilemma | CNN Politics
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Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”

of course he was afraid of russian nuukes. this only prompted Ukrainian engineers to bypass use of starlink entirely and current sea drones, like the one used in second Kerch bridge strike, or these used against SIG tanker and Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship use domestic technology only

  • Mark vW@mastodon.world
    02·
    1 year ago

    @downpunxx LOL. That would be Musk’s wildest dream. The just compensation he would get would be astounding. Better to tax his space stuff…enough so that we could afford the regulatory apparatus sufficient to protect ourselves from it…

    • jonhendry@awful.systemsEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      There’s a SCOTUS case that says the government only has to pay a fair market value, not the “inflated by the government’s need for the property” value. In the case a guy had bought a tugboat and fixed it up quite a bit. When WW2 started the government sought to buy it, and he insisted on a price well above the cost of the boat and the improvements, arguing that WW2 had increased demand so he should get a higher price.

      So Musk would get a lot, but maybe not as much you’d think.

      • Mark vW@mastodon.world
        12·
        1 year ago

        @jonhendry Yeah…but such a trial may require a jury, and that uncertainty very often ups the market value considerably above FMV. It would be stupid to nationalize, given the property is not unique (like real property), presents no barrier to entry. Besides, regulation and taxation are available.

      • Mark vW@mastodon.world
        12·
        1 year ago

        @jonhendry Another huge reason why nationalization would be really stupid. Starlink’s value can be dichotomized into two categories: (1) Business activity that conflicts with US foreign policy, and (2) Business activity that doesn’t conflict with US foreign policy. I suspect the latter value vastly exceeds the former value. In a condemnation proceeding, the US would have to buy the whole kit and kaboodle–what a waste. Then…managing Starlink’s business as a federal entity (wtf?)…

        • self@awful.systemsEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          it’s weird that the only thing you’ve posted in this thread is links to wav files of the sound of guillotine blades cutting through the air