"You [Elon Musk] are a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people."

"Thank you for standing with us."

Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov 

 

"Looks like the steps we took o stop the  unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked."

"Let us know if more needs to be done."

Space X, Elon Musk 

 

"What everyone feared for a long time has happened." 

"Elon Musk flipped the switch … our communications are in chaos."

Yuriy Podolyaka, Crimea-based video blogger, Telegram 

 

"It is important to understand that relying on anything western in the current situation is dangerously overconfident."

"Even taking into account the active negotiations we are currently holding with the United States, that does not stop them from being our adversary."

Aleksey Zhuravlyov, State Duma lawmaker

A Ukrainian soldier using a Starlink terminal. Photograph: Reuters

 

"Its use made information exchange easier for the Russians, as it is quite difficult to jam. As a result, their airstrikes became more precise and coordination of unit movements improved." 

"Since the Ukrainians are successfully jamming everything else, the use of Starlink was vital for the Russians. It was briefly shut down at the start of February to identify terminals that the Russians were using after smuggling them in illegally. Communications have now been restored and the Russians have been cut off from it. But this is only one aspect; there are certainly many other factors at play, including the weather: The cold, snow and the difficult terrain." 

"In war, any tool that solves a problem is suitable. If the frequency bands used by the enemy get detected, they are immediately jammed and efforts are made to shut them down. But if you have any kind of internet connection that allows you to access and exchange information, that helps you out of trouble." 

Maj. Gen. (retired) Neeme Väli  

60 Starlink satellites being delivered from Cape Canaveral (photo taken 2019). Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zoe Thacker /

 

In the latest twist in a four-year-old war where a race for technological supremacy is being fought as much as the confrontations on the battlefield, Russian troops in Ukraine suddenly find themselves without their (illegal) Starlink satellite internet. Pro-war Russian military bloggers have been reporting that Space X's Elon Musk reacted to a Ukrainian request that he curtail access to his network.

 

While it is not yet completely known through speculation how serious a setback this will prove to be to the Russian forces, those same Russian military bloggers report frustration linked to communication problems on the front, with soldiers now deprived of the indispensable communications tool they had used for years through smuggled Starlink equipment linking them to the internet. 

 

Writing under the name Military Informant through the Telegram messaging app, a Russian blogger stated the change could conceivably put the Russian force back "a couple of years", forced to make use of outdated technologies such as wired internet, Wi-Fi and radio communications. "The Starlink saga has created a serious breach in communications, which the enemy may attempt to exploit", blustered Colonelcassad, a channel operated by Boris Rozhin, another Russian pro-war blogger. 

Ukrainian boxing brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko with Starlink terminals shipped to Kyiv early on in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Vitali is Mayor of Kyiv. Source: Kyivcity.gov.ua /

 

Ukraine had recently taken note of Russia's use of the satellite internet network that had gone beyond simple communications connectivity, when Russia began equipping drones with Starlink, improving their targeting and making them more resistant to jamming. The quest for superior drones and greater impenetrable communications links controlling them speaks to the technological competitiveness of this war.  

 

Mykhailo Fedorov, newly appointed as Ukraine's defense minister had contacted SpaceX lat month. The result was  the  U.S. firm blocking access to Starlink in Ukraine other than for terminals registered and verified by the government. Starlink's compliance representing an early victory for the 35-year-old former tech entrepreneur who took the defense ministry last month.

 

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, plans to launch its own satellite internet operation in low-earth orbit with production to begin this year with a launch planned next year. First deputy chairman of the defense committee in Russia's lower  house of Parliament, Aleksei A. Zhuraviev stated that Russia must seek alternatives: "It's important to understand that relying on anything Western in the current situation is overly presumptuous". 

 

SpaceX board member and Estonian-American Steve Jurvetson holding a holding a Starlink user terminal. Source: Steve Jurvetson from Los Altos, USA - Starlink Armada

 

"In January, the Russian side used around 6,000 different drones against Ukraine, in addition to roughly 150 missiles and about 5,000 glide bombs. That is a very large number of targets launched toward Ukraine on a daily basis."

"All of this must be responded to using various means that must be coordinated with each other. Ukraine has a very strong multi-layered air defense, but unfortunately the volume is so great, and of course air defense systems are also worn down in combat."

"There are simply too many Russian targets to respond to everything with one hundred percent effectiveness."

Maj. Gen. (retired) Neeme Väli   

Honk If You Hate Teslas

"I don't know that we can attribute this [that Tesla in Canada and elsewhere in the world is now faring more poorly than other EV makers] to any one factor."

"I wasn't surprised by this [the steep drop in price of used Teslas in Canada]. We also look at the market in the U.S. and globally, and we saw this trend."

"Overall, EV sales are going down. EV demand is down, so it's hard to conclude what's happening."

Baris Akyrek, vice-president, insights and intelligence, auto-Trader.ca

The price of a used Tesla dropped 21.9 per cent year-over-year, while all other EVs listed on AutoTrader fell 16.3 per cent. Photo by Stephen Llewellyn/The Daily Gleaner/Postmedia files

 

No one need concern themselves that the wealthiest man in the world, reportedly with a fortune between US$350 and US$500 billion is being beggared by ill fortune. The fact is, the 'ill fortune' is of his very own construction. And his wealth may decline marginally, but he will remain a man of immense wealth. His personal idiosyncrasies are such that many people are affronted by what he does and says, as much as what they think he does and says. Such being the ill fortune of the filthy rich and the resentment a combination of wealth and odd behaviour engenders.

 

As for Mr. Musk himself, contemplating a possibly temporary but steep loss in public regard that has extended itself to the vehicles he manufactures, no doubt rejection stings and stings sharply for someone more accustomed to basking in the soft light of admiration for his business acumen, his proclivity for taking risks, and his larger-than-life ambitions. This is a man not content to sit on his piles of cash, but driven to invest in bold new production adventures.

 

Unfortunately for Elon Musk he has also chosen to invest his name, his reputation and his time in the world of politics. And as some interpret it, extreme measures in politics, aligning himself wholeheartedly with the new American Republican President of the United States of America. To whom he volunteered his advice as a businessman whose ventures have made him as wealthy as Croesus through a keen insight and admirable judgement. Both of which he was prepared to offer to Donald J. Trump in streamlining government services and pay-outs for a leaner, more efficient model.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk deliver remarks next to a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Tesla electric vehicles now face the public backlash in protests, vandalization and charging stations set afire. This, just as the pace of adoption to EV technology began to ebb, from its previous flow. So that all vehicles in the EV marketplace have experienced an ownership slowdown, but Tesla far more prominently than others. Leading to a glut of used Teslas in Canada, their prices dropping more swiftly than the aggregate of the market, according to Auto-trader.ca Inc.

 

The number of used Teslas in early March listed on AutoTrader rose 12.5 percent on a year-over-year basis even as the number of all other EVs listed on Auto-Trader declined 3.1 percent. The rising used inventory for Tesla appears even starker measured against used internal combustion engine vehicle inventory whose decline was 14.1 percent in the same time period. A used Tesla dropped in price 21.9 percent in that period in comparison to all other EVs that fell 16.3 percent.

 

Edmunds.com Inc., a California-based market research firm, stated that Tesla experienced its "highest-ever share" of trade-ins for new or used cars from dealerships selling other brands. The Tesla-owning population is suddenly eager to divest itself of the vehicles, generally considered, in reaction to the anger felt toward Elon Musk over his government advisory role, to have an unsavoury odour. Tesla owners are also concerned that their Tesla vehicle will become one of the many that are vandalized. No one wants to own something that no one else wants to own.

 

Tesla reported an eight percent decline in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024; its stock has dropped 39 percent to US$244.29. Without doubt, Mr. Musk could never have envisioned the consequences of his decision to be granted special government status under the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency where he is busy dismantling U.S. federal government agencies to slash spending and diversify government services.

 

Nor has he endeared himself to segments of the population with his spontaneous and often ill-thought-out comments, such as posting on his social-media platform X, a meme comparing former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler in 2022. Or in 2023 when he curtailed Ukraine's use of satellite internet service provider Starlink of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of which he is CEO. 

Demonstrators hold anti-Tesla posters during a protest encouraging people to boycott Tesla outside the Tesla Centre Park Royal in London, Britain, March 15, 2025.

Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

"Tesla Takedown"

"All of the platforms in which we communicate and talk to one another are controlled more and more by the tech oligarchy."

"Were seeing that the press is being owned by billionaires, the social media we use is owned by the same billionaires, and the alignment that is happening in the United States ... is just a more overt version of the same kind of thing that's happening in Canada." 

Juan Alperin, professor, faculty of communication, art and technology, Simon Fraser University

 

"[It's my belief that billionaires are] interfering [with politics in North America and Europe in ways they should not be involved]."

"I'm also against the attacks on Canadian sovereignty ... by saying Canada is not a country and that our prime minister is a governor [Musk quips]."

Andrew Balakshin, Vancouver resident 

Over 80 Tesla vehicles were damaged at a Hamilton, Ontario dealership in a vandalism spree. Carscoops

The backlash against Elon Musk's support of U.S. President Donald Trump's war on Canada begins to mirror a rising tide of popular dissent within the United States that has begun targeting the appointed head of DOGE, through targeting his Tesla electric vehicle car production facilities in a series of protests outside Tesla dealerships to deliver a message of rejection. Those protests are par for the course with a disgruntled public expressing their opinion. It is the accompanying and linked violent criminal acts of sabotage, of puncturing tires, keying paint jobs and most of all fire-bombing vehicles that tell the story of matters getting out of hand.

 

Now Canadians in cities including Ottawa and Vancouver have linked themselves to the growing rejection of Tesla as representative of government-cost-slashing actions of DOGE, under the direction of Elon Musk that speaks to a spreading global rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump's abrasive and volatile style of government.

 

Surrey, British Columbia saw residents holding signs with messages including "elbows up", "Elon be-gone", and "democracy dies in apathy". President Trump has proceeded with his threat to slap steep tariffs on Canadian goods, the result of which has predictably been a trade war. His repeated barbs that Canada would be better off as the 51st state, and that Canadians would love to become Americans, surrendering their sovereignty for the 'greater good' of immersing within the U.S. has struck most Canadians as an unforgivable assault by a former friendly neighbour. 

 

A number of the most prominent incidents in the U.S. have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high. In this image, a member of the Seattle Fire Department is seen inspecting a burned Tesla Cybertruck at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

 

Ordinary Canadians have retaliated by refusing to buy American products, seeking out Canadian-produced goods or alternately foodstuffs arriving in Canada from other parts of the world rather than the United States. Musk, the self-described "free speech absolutist" faces criticism from hate-speech watchdogs, seething with outrage that his social media platform X allows extremist, dangerous and antisemitic comments to flourish on X.

 

The world's wealthiest individual has been advising President Trump on overhauling the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, newly created to install Mr. Musk as a special government agent dedicated to reducing the costs of government services. There are those who cite a post Musk shared originating with another X user that posted: "Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn't murder millions of people. Their public sector workers did."

 

Tesla dealership in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

 

Few individuals have the high profile internationally as does Elon Musk. His partnering with the new U.S. president has only increased his visibility and the suspicions surrounding his intentions. Resulting in the auto production company directly associated with the man becoming a target for protests and vandalism. In Oregon gunshots were fired at a Tesla dealership. In Seattle four Cybertrucks were destroyed in a deliberate blaze.

 

Action Network website hosts the "Tesla Takedown" protests where events are posted, used by individuals and community groups to promote what the site describes as 'progressive causes'. Dozens of protests are shown scheduled across the United States and Europe through the remainder of March and into April. 

 

Law enforcement respond to reports of incendiary devices at Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, March 24, 2025.  @DocumentingATX / X

"The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people. Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism — like the recent Tesla attacks — will be pursued with the full force of the law."

"These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night."

"Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes." 

Federal Bureau of Investigation statement

U.S. President Donald Trump's Trade War With Canada

"All gloves are off."

"Canada is being hit hard from its historically strongest ally, and it may be politically expedient to target individuals like Musk who garner outsized influence over the U.S. administration."

James Hinton, senior fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation

 

"Provinces would need to heavily subsidize new infrastructure to replace Starlink, which could take years to implement."

"Legally, targeting Musk's companies could be seen as overreach and Musk could sue in Canadian or U.S. courts to challenge such measures."

"[A bull's-eye on Musk's back also] risks looking like a personal vendetta rather than a rational economic response."

Andreas Schotter, professor of International business, University of Western Ontario Ivey School of Business

Starlink satellite antennas are seen at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA), the international trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, on August 31, 2023. Photo by ODD ANDERSEN /Getty

As it begins to appear more and more inevitable that Donald Trump is prepared to launch another painful trade war with Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union in his determination to, in his opinion, put a stop to other countries' reliance on America's generosity, helping them to fund their own economic advance to the detriment of that of the United States, former allies and trade partners are mulling their options in an effort to stop the roller-coaster destruction of the global economy.

 

Economists everywhere agree that a substantial trade war such as what Mr. Trump is gearing up for will have the end effect of harming the world's economy, as it plays havoc in targeted nations' economies, bringing many to the point of inflationary stress, certain to impact heavily on national populations' quality of life. There is also the recognition that the United States itself will not come away free from the impact of such a draconian move as Mr. Trump contemplates.

 

In Canada, government authorities at every level are making plans and consulting with one another in a combined effort to produce a protective shield as much as possible to avoid the harm certain to arise when a commanding country whose industries are enmeshed with those of the very countries being targeted will produce harmful effects that will bring economies to their knees. In Ontario, Canada's wealthiest province, a plan is afoot to target Elon Musk in recognition of his influence with the Trump White House. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his intention to begin the process by "ripping up" the province's $100 million contract with Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet provide operated by aerospace company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Signed last November, the deal  was on tap to provide internet access for Canadians resident in rural communities. "Ontario won't do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy", blustered Premier Ford, leading other premiers to scrutinize their own Starlink contracts.

 

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford holds a news conference in Etobicoke on Feb. 3, 2025. Later Ford said, with the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause its retaliatory measures. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

 

A situation that elicited a shrug from Mr. Musk who responded to the Premier's X warning statement with a two-word "Oh well". This type of criticism will be no surprise to a man who has aligned himself so intimately with the Trump administration, taking on the role of efficiency czar to a President whose unexpected turn against his U.S. allies has drawn surprise and resentment from his international colleagues. 

 

Emmett Macfarlane, political science professor at University of Waterloo in Ontario, approved of the move to send a powerful message to Musk. "Appeasement does little to stop a bully. We should exercise our powers to punch the bully (metaphorically) in the nose", he said in support of the Starlink cancellation threat. 

Aside from the Starlink contract, there is the issue of Musk companies in operation across Canada; Tesla alone operates 32 stores, Canada's most popular electric vehicle brand. Should a 100 percent tariff be slapped on Tesla vehicles the purchase price would be pushed from its current $56,000 tab into a sphere most electric vehicle buyers would consider hands-off. 

Doug Ford, right, says Ontario is ending its contract with Starlink, the satellite company controlled by Elon Musk, left. Photo by Getty Images/The Canadian Press

"A $100 million contract when he's worth [over] $400 billion -- this is just a flea on his side."

"If we want to truly irritate the Americans, we need to move beyond thinking about what kind of ketchup we buy and think of ways of hitting their [digital] service providers without unduly harming Canadian consumers."

Daniel Trefler, trade economist, Canada research chair in competitiveness and prosperity, Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto 

U.S. Agency for International Development Status

The agency’s funding was corrupted, with grants going to radical causes and organizations.

Perhaps the best illustration of how USAID has misused its funding is found in the Middle East.

In 2024, as the region reeled from the aftermath of the bestial atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel the previous year, the United States significantly boosted its financial support for projects in Gaza and the West Bank, spending more than $200 million of American taxpayers’ money in territories already rife with terrorist incitement and activity.

The respected Israeli research organization NGO Monitor pointed out that as the US government “dramatically increased funding” for these various projects, it “drastically decreased transparency.”

These grants were made to what USAID called “miscellaneous foreign awardees.” You wouldn’t know from the opaque accounting process that beneficiaries included local partners who praised the October 7 onslaught.

A “flash appeal” issued by the United Nations for assistance in Gaza attracted $114 million from Washington, feathering the nests of local non-governmental organizations like Al Awda, a “health and community center” with close ties to the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, designated as a terrorist organization, and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, whose president described the massacres in Israel as “a glorious day for the Palestinian resistance and people.” 

Foundation for Defense of Democracies

 

"With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it with [the president] in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down."

"It became apparent that it's not an apple with a worm in it."

"What we have is just a ball of worms. You've got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It's beyond repair." 

"We're shutting it down."

Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency

Demonstrators outside the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington, DC on Monday   Getty Images

 

When President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1961 its mandate was clear; "international development assistance opportunities", then a shift in focus occurred, to "basic human needs". USAID had been dedicated to extending assistance to countries in  recovery from disasters, countries working internally to escape poverty, countries dedicated to democratic reforms.

 

President Trump, on the other  hand, saw the agency as being run by "radical lunatics" and said as much on Sunday, agreeing with tech maestro Elon Musk that it was a "criminal organization" and he said as much the following day, when he posted just that. 

On Monday, staff of USAID were instructed not to enter the Washington headquarters of USAID. Police blocked the agency's lobby after President Trump took steps to shut the agency down. This follows the laying-off of thousands of USAID employees since Donald Trump took office two weeks ago. As an example of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s powers in influencing government administration this is compelling.

 

Latterly USAID focused on "basic human needs" in the form of food availability, population planning, health, education and human resources development, along with sustainable development abroad. Sectors such as gender equality and female empowerment, as well as water availability and sanitation, along with issues relating to economic growth and trade. Billions in funding have been dispensed on an annual basis globally.

 

It is Mr. Musk's contention in his new quasi-governmental role influencing the Trump administration that in promoting liberal causes the organization mismanaged its funds. USAID  workers wee informed by way of a memo last week that they should cooperate with the new administration in Washington in recognition of Mr. Trump's "America First" policy.

 

Once Mr. Trump issued  his executive order re-evaluating and realigning U.S. foreign aid, Marco Rubio as Secretary of State "paused all U.S. foreign assistance funding by or through the State Department and USAID for review". By Wednesday the USAID website was no longer in evidence. Over 600 staffers were reportedly locked out of the agency's computer system. Those still able to access their computers received emails to the effect that "at the direction of Agency leadership" the headquarters building "will be closed to Agency personnel on February 3."

 

Two top security chiefs at USAID were placed on leave of  absence after refusing to turn classified material in restricted areas over to Mr. Musk's inspection teams. DOGE conducted a similar operation at Treasury Department, to gain access to sensitive information, leading to a resignation by a senior Treasury official. At the present time, USAID's future remains unknown. 

USAID-funded Palestinian NGOs: Introducing Children to Convicted Terrorists

June 09, 2021

A number of USAID sub-grantees ran programs that introduced children to convicted terrorists, presented convicted terrorists as role models, and publicly demonstrated support for terrorists and terrorist organizations

NGO Monitor

Norwegian People’s Aid Funding to Terror Affiliated NGOs

April 10, 2018

According to the US Department of Justice, NPA provided “material support” to Iran, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) – designated terrorist organizations under US law. As a result of these partnerships, in March 2018, NPA settled a civil-fraud suit, paying a $2 million settlement to the US.

NGO Monitor

 

On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).

For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming.

Thank you for your service

 

Who Owns Tesla, SpaceX, X and Space?

"I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future."

Elon Musk, X, 12/17

"[Amateur Turkish astronomer used software he developed in his free time] to parse through the [Minor Planet Center's] public archive of observations of objects, which anyone can peruse in search of asteroids and other small solar system bodies."

Space publication Astronomy

"[The satellite appeared to re-enter] over the southern Wisconsin/Michigan area [and was] widely observed from neighbouring regions including Chicago."

"[Satellites at the end of their life-span use] electric thrusters to lower the orbit to about 250 [kilometres]. "Then it's switched off and the atmosphere drags them in over the next week or so."

Jonathan McDowell, scientist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, seen here departing Earth with its Starman mannequin at the wheel, launched on a SpaceX rocket in 2018 and mistaken for a near-Earth asteroid in January 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

 

If you're the world's wealthiest individual, and you are galvanized by the prospect of space travel to the extent that you launch  your very own extraterrestrial plans for colonizing a planet in the galaxy in which your home planet exists -- an enterprise of extraordinary hubris in a challenge to the natural order of a magnitude that is difficult to imagine -- it must come easy to feel entitled in such a cavalier manner as to launch a personal toy into space just for the fun of it. 

 

Humanity's impulse to litter Earth, expands to the compulsion to litter space...

On January 2nd, the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery of a new asteroid named 2018 CN41. The announcement of a discovery that lasted one day only, before a correction was posted the following day to declare that the original announcement had been deleted. The explanation was that this was an erroneous classification of an asteroid; what the object actually was, it turned out, was a Tesla Roadster.

 

NASA's now retired Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was misidentified as an asteroid several times during its lifetime mapping the universe 1 million miles from Earth. (Image credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team)

The vehicle was in fact a fondly held possession of the founder of Space X, and the car, a red sports model, was favoured by the founder of Tesla, its proud manufacturer. In 2018 the car had been launched into orbit aboard SpaceX''s Falcon Heavy rocket, at the time considered the world's most powerful rocket. Can anyone name any other individual on Earth whose deep pockets could produce such fabled technology as an electric vehicle manufacturer and space rocketry duo, both used in a fantasy of the future? And then post it as a proudly amusing item on X, the social media platform he owns?

A SpaceX Starlink internet satellite fell from space in a blaze of glory overnight, lighting up the Midwest U.S. sky with a brilliant fireball, according to Space.com.

 

Elon Musk's little amusement is by no means the only object to make headlines connected to the world's wealthiest man with a penchant for oddball moves. What had been identified as a fireball streaking across the night sky on Wednesday for example. The object was in fact a Starlink internet satellite seen lighting up the sky as it streaked the sky over the American Midwest. The low-orbit launch of Starlink satellites for broadband internet are delivered skyward by SpaceX. 

 

The fireball appearance was posted in a video online by the American Meteor Society. Records have been maintained by the American Meteor Society of fireball reports since 2005. Dozens of reports along with videos and images were received by the Society this week from people who witnessed the satellite-cum-fireball, named Starlink 5693, that had been launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, February 2023.

The dramatic reentry of Starlink 5693 captured the attention of many, offering a glimpse of the growing interaction between technology and space. Science Magazine

"Spaceflight activities in cislunar and interplanetary space should be conducted in an open and transparent way."

"Such transparency is essential for promoting space situational awareness, reducing interference between missions, avoiding interference with observations of natural objects, including observations of potential hazardous asteroids, and ensuring the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies."

American Astronomical Society, 2004 statement

Social Media Platforms ... Sinking Profits

"For the big companies it's reasonable to assume that the rising tide that has been floating their boats for the past 5 years is just now a lot choppier."

"They clearly need to trim and to rationalize projects that they just haven't had to do for a decade-and-a-half because the environment was so munificent."

Jo-Ellen Pozner,  assistant professor of management, Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business

The Twitter profile page belonging to Elon Musk is seen on an Apple iPhone mobile phone.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

 

Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft Corp. fell short of projections in recent earning, sending shares plunging, shaving hundreds of millions to billions from their market valuations. So far this year Meta (Facebook, Instagram) has lost over 72 percent of its value. Investors appear uncomfortable with chief executive Mark Zuekerberg's investments in an immersible digital world; the metaverse. Meta Platforms Inc is set to cut thousands of workers. 

Before that, it was Elon Musk's decision to cut Twitter Inc.'s staff in half after acquiring the network. Apple Inc. Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. all have slowed or paused in their hiring. Elon Musk sold another batch of Tesla shares in a bid to help fund his Twitter buyout. He disposed of 19.5 million shares to the value of $3.95 billion. Tesla's chief executive, the single-largest shareholder, gave assurances he was finished offloading.

It was important, he said, to avoid an "emergency sale" should he need to close the Twitter acquisition as he struggled to bring in aditional equity partners, back in August. Tesla stock lost $60 billion in market capitalization, tumblding 56 percent this year, since peaking a year ago. Twitter is losing money, facing annual interest payments of close to $1.2 billion. Several major companies halted their ads on the platform since Musk took over as they wait to see how his leadership evolves.

"It looks like Musk is preparing for things to stay bad at Twitter for the next year. He's preparing for Twitter to be a money  hole", remarked Gene Munster of Loup Ventures, once the stock sales became public.

Meanwhile, his moves to cut costs -- including firing half the staff and asking afterward whether some he had fired would please come back -- and overhaul of the platform's operations resulted in several tumultuous weeks at Twitter. Some of the employees are not quite certain whether they remain employed, or whether they've been let go. Some Tesla shareholders worry that the CEO has spread himself too thin, leading to selling off more stock.

"It's hypothetically possible that he could use more of his Tesla stock to bail out Twitter, or turn to his cadre of co-investors, who would probably have no trouble finding the money." 

"The saying ,'if you owe the bank $100, that's your problem, but if you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem' might apply here,"

"[Investors and other lenders could take over the company if Twitter went through a bankruptcy proceeding, with Musk still serving as its chief executive.] Bankruptcy would also allow Musk to refinance the debt, which would make the company more financially stable." 

Andy Wu, assistant professor, Harvard business school

Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2022. Jeff Chiu/AP

 

The image of Musk and his Chinese doppelganger was posted beneath a tweet from Musk claiming that he will pay 11 billion USD in taxes this year.

Elon Musk enjoys great popularity among young Chinese, in China. He has also invested a great deal in China. Unfortunately, the great admiration he enjoys as a role model for innovative, bold gestures and a startling imagination with an enduring belief that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that he cannot achieve on the strength of the force of his character, his vision and enterprise, is not universally beloved in China. Oh, the Chinese Communist Party respects his enterprise and ability to make money for himself and his enterprises, but they have certain reservations about anyone -- just ask Jack Ma -- who thinks too big for their britches.

And no one individual can possibly challenge the supremacy of the Chinese State and its enterprises. Including Beijing's claim to shooting for the stars. Starting modestly with a space station of its own. So when a world-class entrepreneur like Elon Musk displays a gusto for outmaneuvering and out-satelliting the most technically advanced, ardent of nations in space exploration he was guaranteed to raise the hackles of the CCP. All the more so that he is a certified American strategist-capitalist-innovator.

Not that this far-reaching technical-whizz-kid hasn't raised the hackles of other non-state groups, such as scientists in the field of astronomy and astro-physics who depend on their ability to read the stars, as it were, though the grace of dark skies enabling powerful telescopes to reach far into the deepest recesses of the universe, back in time and space to analyze the beginning of all that exists, but will be hampered by Musk's plans to string satellites in a wide net impeding the course of astronomical investigation by lighting up the skies.

Now, however, Beijing accuses Elon Musk of "space warfare" in close encounters of a different kind, where some satellites launched as part of his groundbreaking global internet initiative experienced a near-miss with China's recently-launched space station. Starlink Internet Services, a division of the Musk Space-X aerospace company, saw some of its satellites involved in two "close encounters" with China's space station in July and October.

China subsequently submitted a document to the United Nations apace agency: "For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control", China reported on the website of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Now that's awfully serious; it's obvious that a collision of any dimension has the potential to end badly. Remember not so long ago when China insisted it had the right to send up rockets directed to destroy some of its old space junk still in circulation?

And the United States and European Space Agency were concerned over the detritus not only having the potential to intersect with their communication satellites but their space missions as well, including the international space station, where astronauts were actually forced to take evasive action when a piece of a destroyed Chinese weather satellite was headed toward it?

 

The ISS is a big target for space debris, but it's no sitting duck   NASA

.China launched Tianhe, the largest of its three modules which will make up its space station, in April. The end of 2022 will see the completion of the space station following four crewed missions meant to build on the initial module. Scientists urge space-travelling governments to share data to reduce risk of catastrophic space collisions in view of close to 30,000 satellites and other debris orbiting Earth. Close to 1,900 satellites have been deployed by Space X alone in service to its Starlink broadband network, meant to blanket the world with universal internet coverage.

According to China's state-operated tabloid Global Times, the satellites, 42,000 thousand of which Musk plans to orbit could be "used to detect China's space perception capabilities and test whether China can accurately grasp their actions". The paper wrote: "The aerospace industry is currently concerned about the military application of Starlink satellite because after the deployment of more than 40,000 satellites, the normal launch of other countries will be affected."

Musk may just run into problems making his world-wide high-speed internet connectivity viable; planning to ask China for permission to build antenna dishes or ground links on its territory to send and receive data from the Starlink spacecraft initially, China saw that plan as interfering with its censored internet network, the "Great Firewall", blocking access to websites like google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and international media. How else might it succeed in ensuring its 1.4 billion population is shielded from criticism against its communist leaders?

The Chinese division of Tesla last month, also owned by Musk, announced that Starlink would not launch services in China. All Tesla cars and charging stations would use network services provided by Chinese operators with all data maintained within the country. This, the result of China forcing foreign companies to retain all records collected from Chinese consumers within the country. Tesla in China employs quite a lot of Chinese workers.

 

"What will happen to Tesla in China, if some day Starlink's low-orbit satellites collide with our country's low-orbit satellites or other spacecraft", worried one Chinese, writing on Weibo. What, indeed?! After all, China appears to feel entitled to viewing space as its personal jurisdiction and it is very jealous of its reputation and sovereignty. And Musk feels that nothing is beyond his enterprising spirit to accomplish as a private, non-state investor in space.

 

Filthy Lucre and Profound Wealth

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Elon Musk and Grimes at the 2018 Met Gala

The world is stumbling through a global pandemic with nation after nation watching helplessly as their economies crumble, stock market values tumble, businesses fail, great corporations are prostrated, and pharmaceutical companies rush to develop a life-saving vaccine -- and all the while their health-care systems are overwhelmed with mounting cases of a coronavirus that has crushed the lives of millions of people.

Yet, all is not lost. The world's wealthiest billionaires are in fine shape, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index which ranks the world's 500 wealthiest people in order of the riches they have amassed. For the past eight years those rankings have informed a curious world of the wealth that some individuals have been able to accrue to themselves. And this year, which has seen nations stumble to their financial knees, the ultra-wealthy are doing just fine, thanks for asking.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos is now acknowledged as the wealthiest man in the world. Bill Gates has been dumped south, from the second richest man on Earth, to third-place status. And Elon Musk, who in January ranked 35th in wealth among the 500 billionaires the report names, added $100.3 billion to his net worth in the year 2020, for a total of $127.9 billion, the year that spelled disaster to Planet Earth. That princely sum added to his net worth has brought him to the position of second wealthiest man on this blue planet.

Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates's net worth of $127.7 while powerfully rich, has been diminished from the heights it might have reached had he not donated considerable portions of his vast wealth to charity, in giving over $27 billion to the Bill Gates Foundation, since 2006. He appears to have been more than willing to surrender the top spot in soaring wealth in favour of funding research in viruses to rescue humanity from dread diseases.

There are notable differences between Gates and Musk, the former believing in vaccine research and putting his money where his mouth is, as opposed to the values of the latter who questions pandemic data, finding comfort in certain conspiracy theories. And just as urban legend often speaks of the peculiar social mores and twisted morals of the very rich, there are examples that reveal the inner value core of such people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably made for a poorer world for most of Earth's inhabitants. Millions have lost employment, millions have become ill and the lingering effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID will bedevil some people all their lives, those spared the devastation of more immediate life-taking complications. Governments have had to borrow vast sums in funding to financially support their desperate populations.

Widespread layoffs disproportionately affecting the working class and the poor, poverty is increasing exponentially. In marked contrast to the members of the Bloomberg index having collectively profited by gaining 23 percent (roughly $1.3 trillion-worth) since the beginning of the year when a mysterious pneumonia-like illness began to emerge in Wuhan, China and all too soon spread world-wide to wreak havoc everywhere.

•X, the unknown variable

•Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) •A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent

+ (A=Archangel, my favorite song) (

metal rat)

The world's second richest man's partner is a Canadian-born entertainer, sufficiently successful in her career to have made a name for herself, and the owner of her own recording company, Crystal Math Music Inc. Her stage name is Grimes, her true name Claire Elise Boucher, born in British Columbia and an alumni of McGill University. The staff she employs at her recording company applied to a granting agency on her  behalf.

This is a woman, while a reportedly gifted musician and entertainer, lives in California with her love partner, Elon Musk, and their young son whom they named XAE A-XII. Factor, a Canadian arts subsidy program partially funded by the Government of Canada, awarded her a $90,000 grant. She evidently under the eligibility criteria of the funding body seems fully qualified, irrespective of the fact that she no longer lives in Canada, though listed as a Quebec artist.

So a woman with a successful entertaining career who owns her own recording company appealed to a partially publicly-funded arts-grant group for a grant acknowledging her contribution to Canadian entertainment. That she has access to undreamed-of wealth, living with the world's second-most wealthy man appears incidental; she has not hesitated to take the grant and he appears uninvolved with the moral implications.

Among which is the fact that entertainers of all kinds in the world of art are struggling to assert their talents in circumstances where public venues revolving around art and entertainment are now closed off to them, and while continuing to polish their talents in hopes of better days to come, seek gainful employment in the ill-paid services industries in hopes of earning a living to get by current difficulties. 

F.Scott Fitzgerald was right when he penned that throw-away line that "the rich are not like you and me".