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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and billionaire Elon Musk have clashed in the past, but their fight could soon escalate as Warren called for an investigation into Musk’s SpaceX after a report that he refused Ukraine access to the Starlink network in order to thwart an attack on Russian warships.
Warren called on the Pentagon and Congress to investigate what happened, saying that they needed “to make sure foreign policy is conducted by the government and not by one billionaire,” according to Bloomberg.
Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed agreed, saying that while he appreciated that SpaceX made it much cheaper to get to space, Musk “can’t be the last word when it comes to national security.” Warren is also a member of the Armed Services Committee.
Musk has been providing internet access to Ukraine during the Russian offensive via his Starlink satellite network. Last year, according to Walter Isaacson’s new biography Elon Musk, Ukraine had planned a sneak attack on Russian warships while they had been anchored. Musk later confirmed the story in a post to X.
“There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” he wrote.
There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol.
The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor.
If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2023
Musk feared that the attack could lead to nuclear retaliation against Ukraine, according to Isaacson’s book. In a Monday tweet, Musk said that it was “treasonous” to criticise his decision to block the attack on Russia.
“I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America. The United States Congress has not declared war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such. Please tell them that very clearly,” he wrote.
I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America.
The United States Congress has not declared war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such.
Please tell them that very clearly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2023
This is far from the first time Warren has had disagreements with Elon Musk. This July, Warren asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tesla for conflicts of interest due to his running both Tesla and Twitter.
“Mr. Musk’s actions since purchasing Twitter and becoming its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – while remaining Tesla’s CEO – have raised concerns about conflicts of interest, misappropriation of corporate assets, and other negative impacts to Tesla shareholders. Despite recent and repeated calls from investors to address these actions, the Board appears to have failed to uphold its legal duty to ensure that Mr. Musk act in the best interest of Tesla,” Warren said.
Shortly after, Musk’s X Corp. subpoenaed Warren over the letter to the SEC, in hopes of stopping the Federal Trade Commission investigation into Twitter. X Corp. alleged that the FTC investigation was “tainted by bias,” according to Ars Technica.
In December, in response to a tweet that Warren had asked Tesla’s board if investors were harmed by Musk’s actions while owning Twitter, Musk tweeted, “The United States has definitely been harmed by having her as a senator lol”.
The United States has definitely been harmed by having her as a senator lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2022
And a year before that, in December 2021, Musk called Warren “Senator Karen” when she said that how little he paid in taxes was evidence that “the system is broken,” according to Newsweek. In response, Warren told MSNBC that “the world’s richest freeloader evidently has a very thin skin.”
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