Episode summary
Starlink Ukraine Controversy; SpaceX and Tesla Study Merger | Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
· · 17 min
Summary
The hosts led with a Wall Street Journal report that Elon Musk personally ordered a slowdown in Starlink service used by Ukraine, raising new questions about how much control private companies have over battlefield communications. Bloomberg’s Europe correspondent said the reporting is still incomplete, but the core allegation is that Ukraine’s access was consciously and deliberately constrained, with the fallout becoming public only after Ukrainians noticed the disruption on the battlefield. Marco Rubio then pushed back hard, saying the Trump administration had nothing to do with it and arguing that the United States remains indispensable to Ukraine’s survival.
The discussion then shifted to peace efforts, with US envoy Steve Witkoff reported to be meeting Vladimir Putin after talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. The guest said Ukraine’s dependence on Starlink remains acute because Europe has no real substitute, and he noted broader unease about the direction of US support as the war and diplomacy both evolve.
Later, the show turned to markets and Elon Musk’s business empire. After stronger-than-expected SpaceX earnings, Musk said there is “a lot of merit” to combining SpaceX and Tesla, which would create a conglomerate spanning electric vehicles, batteries, rockets, and satellites. The hosts also covered election politics, trade tensions with Mexico, and warnings from Ken Griffin about an AI bubble.
Key takeaways
- The Journal reported that Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of Starlink access for Ukraine, and the guest said the reporting suggests a deliberate decision, not a technical glitch.
- Marco Rubio argued the Trump administration did not deny Ukraine any needed support and said the United States has done more than any other country to help it.
- The guest said Europe has no real alternative to Starlink, underscoring how dependent Ukraine remains on US-linked infrastructure.
- Elon Musk said there is “a lot of merit” to combining SpaceX and Tesla, which could create a major EV, battery, rocket, and satellite conglomerate.
- The hosts said peace talks are moving to Russia, where Steve Witkoff is reportedly meeting Vladimir Putin after talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders.
Notable quotes
“this is a decision that was made consciously and deliberately uh by Elon Musk”
“If it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now”
“Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist”
“I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies um as we are pretty much in the super intelligence singularity”
“a blockbuster creating a conglomerate spanning electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, rockets, and satellites”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. — Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager — And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.
Karen, we begin with the latest on the war in Ukraine and fraying relations between the US and Ukraine. Elon Musk reportedly ordered the slowdown of Starlink satellite technology used to defend Ukraine. And this is according to a Wall Street Journal report that cites unnamed American officials who suggest Musk restricted the speed of Ukraine's access to Starlink.
We get more from Bloomberg's Oliver Crook. I think there's still a lot of information that needs to come out about what exactly happened here. I mean, it's already sort of notable that there was no warning to anybody about this ahead of time that this any sort of a service would be throttled down to the Ukrainians.
It came after the Ukrainians were noticing this on the battlefield um and then basically went public with it. And then since then, everyone's been trying to figure out, you know, what happened. Was there actually the service being reduced?
Whose decision was it? And those questions are beginning to be answered by some of the reporting here from the Wall Street Journal, but are not completely answered. Right?
So, this report suggests that this is a decision that was made consciously and deliberately uh by Elon Musk, according to a number of the people that the Wall Street Journal spoke to. That's Bloomberg's Oliver Crook. The Journal also reports Musk discussed the Starlink decision with President Donald Trump after the shortfall became publicly known.
Nathan, as controversy swirls over the recent slowdown of the Starlink satellite system, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had nothing to do with it. During a visit to India, he told reporters Ukraine would not exist without American support.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- starlink slowdown
- spacex operations
- ukraine russia conflict tech
- us state department ukraine support
- spacex tesla merger talks
Companies and tickers mentioned
- TSLA
- SpaceX
- Starlink
- Tesla Inc.
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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