Apparently you can buy anything, if you’re rich enough.
Dialing In
During his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just one day after the election, president-elect Donald Trump decided to include his number one campaigner: Elon Musk.
First reported by Axios, this three-way call was apparently less tense than one might expect.
According to insiders Axios spoke to, Zelenskyy was reassured by what he heard from the billionaire pair amid speculation about how a second Trump presidency will affect the United States’ relations with Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
One of those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss the matter freely, said that it “didn’t leave Zelenskyy with a feeling of despair.”
In particular, the Ukrainian president was heartened that the call happened so soon after the election, one of Axios‘ anonymous sources claims. Notably, the Zelenskyy call occurred days before Trump spoke to Putin — and during that exchange, which seems to have happened without Musk, he advised his Russian counterpart not to escalate his years-long incursion in Ukraine.
From Russia With Love
During the 25-minute call, Musk told the Ukrainian leader that he’d continue supporting Ukraine via Starlink satellite. That reassurance was also likely welcome to Zelenskyy following reports last month indicating that Russian forces were using Ukraine’s Starlink access to their own ends.
It’s also curious that the South African-born technocrat was put on the call given that just a few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had been having secret phone calls with Putin since late 2022 — the same year Russia invaded Ukraine.
During those chats, Putin purportedly asked Musk not to provide Starlink access to Taiwan at the behest of Chinese President Xi Jinping — and given that the disputed country still doesn’t have Starlink, it appears that the billionaire acquiesced.
It doesn’t appear that those clandestine chats were discussed during the relatively brief call between Trump, Musk, and Zelenskyy. Nevertheless, we’d love to hear what the trio did talk about.
More on Musk: Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Says He’s a “Delusional and Grubby Little Control Freak”