Elon Musk told Pentagon that he 'directly' spoke to Russia's President Putin: Report

Elon Musk has admitted to Pentagon officials that he had spoken directly to Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a phone call about his aerospace firm SpaceX's supply of Starlink internet service to Ukraine’s military. SpaceX's CEO Musk revealed this information to Colin Kahl, the then Pentagon’s top policy official in October 2022 while having a conversation about Ukrainian forces losing the Starlink service as they marched into the territory contested by Russia, sources told New Yorker.

Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy at the Pentagon spoke with Musk after holding a slew of meetings with the officials from the UK, France, and Germany. He was concerned as Ukraine's forces, who were defending their territory against Russian aggression, complained about the outages and severed connectivity of the Starlink internet on the frontlines. 

Around that time, Musk had given the Pentagon an ultimatum that if did not pay for the internet service in Ukraine which was calculated at four hundred million dollars annually, he would cut off the access. Starlink satellite internet terminals had been a vital source of communication, gathering intelligence updates for Ukraine’s military or even staying connected on the cellular phone after the country's internet networks were destroyed during the assaults. Ukrainian troops operating the drones complained about the “catastrophic” loss of communication as soldiers breached the frontline into Russian-controlled territory. 

Musk asks US military to foot bill of tens of millions of dollars

Musk tweeted that an estimated 20,000 Starlink satellite units have been donated to Ukraine and that the “operation has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.” Musk warned the Pentagon that the 'charitable contributions' to Ukraine will be coming to an end unless the United States military foots the bill of tens of millions of dollars. As he spoke with Kahl about the issue, Musk volunteered the information that he held a personal conversation with Putin in October. 

“My inference was that he [Musk] was getting nervous that Starlink’s involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns,” Kahl, who returned to his position at Stanford University in July, told the magazine.

Last year, Tesla CEO denied claims made by Ian Bremmer, president of political risk research firm Eurasia Group, that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Musk had a “direct conversation” with Putin about the war, Bremmer wrote in a letter. Responding to Bremmer's claim, Musk said, “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space." X Corp's CEO also stated that Putin told him that he would accomplish certain goals “no matter what,” including the possession of 2014 annexed Crimea. 

US Defence Department spokesman Jeff Jurgensen, in an emailed statement, said "We’re aware of the coverage and interest in this and the department does contract with Starlink for services of this type." Further, the official stressed, "As we have also stated, due to the critical nature of these systems – we have not released additional details regarding specific capabilities, contracts or partners - at this time." In his clarification on the platform X, formerly Twitter, tech billionaire Musk said that he’d spoken to the Russian president Putin "only once, roughly 18 months earlier, about space." 

Tesla CEO had raked controversy previously for suggesting a divisive 'peace plan' which was touted by the Kremlin but widely condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Musk floated the idea that Russia should be allowed to keep the Crimea Peninsula that its forces annexed in 2014, adding that Kyiv must adopt a neutral status, and drop its bid to join NATO. SpaceX boss also left Ukrainians raging as he suggested that the four annexed regions in Kremlin-orchestrated "referendums" which were denounced by the West as a sham shall have voted in the United Nations (UN).

Musk also claimed that Crimea was a part of Russia until it was handed to Ukraine under the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Tesla CEO also launched a poll for the public view about annexed Ukrainian territories. In a sarcastic response, Zelenskyy posted poll of his own asking "Which Elon Musk do you like more?": "One who supports Ukraine" or "One who supports Russia."