Putin regularly talks to Musk and asks him for favors - WSJ

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The founder of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, has been regularly discussing business, geopolitics and personal topics with Vladimir Putin since the end of 2022, The Wall Street Journal has learned . Moreover, the Russian president specifically asked the businessman not to activate the Starlink satellite Internet in Taiwan as a “service” to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the publication’s sources claim.

Musk himself claimed that he spoke with Putin only once, but Starlink in Taiwan still does not work, WSJ notes. And the change in the businessman’s attitude towards Ukraine, to which he donated 15 thousand terminals, can be traced precisely from the end of 2022. Since this year, there has been widespread use of Starlink by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.

• The Biden administration knows about Musk’s conversations with Putin, but it is difficult to rein in Musk: both SpaceX and Starlink carriers are key technologies.
• Musk (and his money) became perhaps the main driving force behind Donald Trump's presidential campaign at the finish line. “While the United States and its allies have isolated Putin, dialogue through Musk could mean restoring contacts with the Russian leader in the context of a deal promoted by Trump on major issues, including the war in Ukraine,” the publication writes.
• If Trump wins, Musk has been promised a position as a consultant with powers. He will presumably head the “commission on the efficiency of public administration.”
• Separately, Musk's estimated wealth rose $34 billion yesterday to $270 billion after Tesla shares jumped 22% on a strong quarterly report. He remains the richest man in the world by a wide margin.