Putin's comments come after Musk said last week that he refused an emergency request by Ukraine to extend coverage of Starlink satellites to Crimea.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday praised Elon Musk, calling the Tesla and SpaceX founder a “talented businessman.”
  • Putin was discussing Russia’s space program after a failed moon landing last month.
  • His comments come after Musk said last week that he refused an emergency request by the Ukrainian government to extend coverage of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to Sevastopol in Crimea.
  • exohuman@programming.devEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    Can we define Musk as a traitor now? He is actively interfering in a conflict in an active combat zone the USA has already picked sides in and sided with the enemy.

    • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      7·
      1 year ago

      At the very least, all government contracts and grants should be pulled from SpaceX, Tesla, Starlink, and any other Musk run businesses.

    • NekoKamiGuru@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      If Putin were to say Biden was a great guy would that make Biden a traitor? No. Putin is full of shit and he is setting out to create as much trouble as he can to destabilize the western powers who he views as his enemies.

    • CCatMan@lemmy.oneEnglish
      01·
      1 year ago

      What if, we sieze his assets and pay off the US national debt 👍

      • Echo71Niner@kbin.social
        1·
        1 year ago

        Pfft… You and so many other people hear he is worth $200 billion plus and think that is his actual worth lmao. If you sold everything Elon has and liquidated it, it would not come up to $30 billion in cash. US national debt will never ever be paid.

        What if, we sieze his assets and pay off the US national debt

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      01·
      1 year ago

      If he actually did tell his company to take an action that effectively contravened official US policy (and it looks like he did), he broke the law. Specifically, 18 U.S. Code § 953 - Private correspondence with foreign governments:

      Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

      I am willing to bet that someone in the Ukrainian foreign ministry was aware of this law, and then had some pointed questions for the US State Department on whether or not Elon’s refusal to share intelligence should be taken as an official US position on the matter, and if not, why Elon/SpaceX’s behavior is effectively contradicting official US policy.

      This should get interesting, and it could put Elon in some real legal jeopardy on a matter that the US tends to not fuck around with.