Elon Musk is not a CEO like the others, as are his critics and fans.
The former judges him to be eccentric, scolding him for being uncontrollable and fearing his unpredictable side. On the other hand, the latter pays tribute to the fact that he was never quite where you would expect him to be.
More than a week into the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the billionaire has just proven that he is definitely a CEO in his own right, and he doesn’t play on the same playing field as his peers.
If a large number of companies have announce To suspend or stop their activities or services in Russia, their leaders did not take a personal position in this Russian war.
They often make it clear that they have no choice but to suspend their Russian activities due to sanctions from the United States, the European Union and their allies.
This warning to business leaders is not unlike the position they tend to take on social issues: Be impartial.
You have to believe that Elon Musk is not from this school.
Musk asks Ukraine to maintain its strength
Thus the controversial businessman chose his side between Russia and Ukraine and made it known to more than 76 million followers on Twitter.
“Hold Ukraine tight,” Tesla posted (TSLA) – Get a Tesla Inc . report CEO, Friday evening, message surrounded by three Ukrainian flags on the left and three more on the right.
And in case there were any doubts about his choice, Musk added a second message in which he sent his “sympathy” to “the great people of Russia who do not want it.”
Russia continued its massive offensive in Ukraine on Saturday, driving cities and towns to rubble, and a limited ceasefire in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol ended as soon as it began. Ukrainian officials say Russia has violated the ceasefire agreement.
Russian targeting of civilian infrastructure caused a mass exodus of terrified people from cities including Kyiv, the capital, and created increasingly harsh conditions for those who remained, The New York Times reports. About half a million people in Mariupol entered their third day without heating, electricity or water on Saturday.
Musk’s choice of Ukraine’s side comes days after the billionaire sent Starlink satellite internet access stations designed by SpaceX, his other company, to Ukraine.
was a billionaire a challenge On Twitter by Mikhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
But Musk warned against that These Starlink terminals are likely to be the target of attacks from Russian hackers or malicious actors.
And the billionaire warned: “Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still operating in some parts of Ukraine, so the possibility of it being targeted is high. Please use it with caution.”
Musk Tesla warns of cyber attacks
“Turn on Starlink only when needed and put the antenna as far away from people as possible,” he added.
“Put a slight blur over the antenna to avoid optical detection.”
Starlink, Musk subsidiary SpaceX’s first consumer product, is a high-speed Internet powered by a network of thousands of small, low-orbit satellites.
It enables residents of areas not served by fixed and mobile networks of telecom operators to access the Internet. Thousands of small satellites orbit in low orbit – essentially 342 miles or 550 kilometers above Earth.
The system also needs ground stations around the world to communicate with the satellites.
Musk said Friday night that he would not comply with a request by some governments – he did not name them – to block Russian media access to Starlink.
He explained that this decision came out of his “absolute” respect for “freedom of expression.”
“Some governments (not Ukraine) have asked Starlink to block Russian news sources,” he wrote. “We will only do so at gunpoint.” “I’m sorry for being completely free of speech.”
Musk also said that SpaceX will now focus on countering attacks on Starlink terminals and deliberate interference to disrupt communications.
“SpaceX has been rearranged for electronic defense and signal jamming to be overcome.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine has been regularly hit by cyberattacks carried out by Russian operators, according to the country’s IT Security Agency. This raised concerns for the country’s telecommunications networks.
Musk’s plan to turn SpaceX, his rocket and space technology company, into a company capable of taking people to the moon and Mars depends on Starlink’s profitability.
SpaceX has already launched more than 2,000 Starlink satellites, with an overall goal of launching about 12,000.
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