Elon Musk's latest clash with Ukraine underscores the critical role that his company's Starlink satellite internet service has played in Kyiv's defense against Russia, which invaded unprovoked in 2022.
It's also laid bare the downsides of depending on a single provider for satellite internet communications, though other options are not yet comparable to SpaceX's Starlink and its military-grade Starshield offering.
On Oct. 14, Ukrainian officials accused SpaceX of undermining the country's ability to defend itself.
SpaceX and the U.S., they said, had suddenly and without warning imposed speed limits on Starshield. SpaceX describes Starshield as a "secured satellite network for government entities" that "leverages Starlink technology."
The changes cut wireless internet connectivity in drones and other aircraft moving at speeds over 100 miles per hour that Ukrainian forces were using in the campaign against Russia. A Ukrainian senior commander told The New York Times the Starlink restrictions cost his unit more than $1 million and delayed missions by 3 days.
Musk and President Donald Trump, both critics of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have each shirked accountability for the communications disruptions in the war-torn nation.
On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk individually ordered the service changes, and had discussed them with Trump before putting them in place. Trump insisted on Wednesday that he "was not involved."
Robert Weissman, who is co-president of watchdog group Public Citizen, said the situation is an "extreme danger" that raises antitrust and security concerns around Musk's ability to control a "crucial means of communication."
"People worry about the political, as well as economic, impacts of oligarchy, and this is it," Weissman said in an interview. "It's not just that Musk can drown out other speakers, he can close down communications in a national security context for a country. No person should have that ability or power."
The disruptions have prompted a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. to call for an investigation into Musk's actions, including calls for him to potentially testify under oath.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told CNBC on Wednesday that he doesn't believe Musk would have acted "without at least the acquiescence of the White House," and called attempts to throttle Starlink service in Ukraine "frankly shameful."
"There's a reason why we've had relative peace in Europe since World War II," Cornyn said in a "Squawk on the Street" interview. "And that's because of the alliance between the United States and our European allies. And I think anything we do to undermine that or degrade that is a big mistake."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called for an investigation on the matter and wrote, in a social media post Wednesday, "No billionaire, especially one that gets massive contracts from our government, should have the power to unilaterally decide to shut down communications and weapons during a war of critical importance to the US and Ukraine."
On SpaceX's earnings call this week, executives didn't address the issue and weren't asked about it by analysts.
Starlink dominance
Governments or companies looking for an alternative to Musk, SpaceX and its satellite internet services have few options.
Amazon's Leo, which also delivers internet connectivity via a low Earth orbit satellite constellation, is seven years in the making and has yet to fully come online, with only 390 satellites in orbit.
SpaceX, by comparison, boasts a Starlink constellation of more than 11,000 satellites in orbit, according to data tracked by astronomer Jonathan C. McDowell. Starlink connectivity is live in 174 countries, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said on Tuesday's earnings call.
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, in January unveiled a service called TeraWave for enterprise and government customers. It's targeting deployment of the first batch of satellites in the fourth quarter of 2027.
France's Eutelsat, also a competitor to Starlink, has more than 600 satellites in orbit. The stock surged 23% on Oct. 14 as reports emerged that Musk had restricted Starlink in Ukraine.
Several countries are looking into sovereign satellite communications systems. The EU is building IRIS², which is expected to span hundreds of satellites, but the first launches aren't expected until 2029.
Most of these planned systems are unlikely to "come anywhere close" in terms of capacity, coverage, resilience or cost compared to Starlink, said Christian Freiherr von der Ropp, an independent satellite consultant. The cost, size, weight and power draw of Eutelsat's terminals make them particularly unsuitable in the battlefield, he added.
While SpaceX's Connectivity business has raced ahead of rivals, the company also has the advantage of overseeing a hugely successful rocket launch business, which has carried satellites to orbit for many of its competitors.
SpaceX is now phasing out commercial rides on its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, while it tests and develops its massive Starship rocket.
Many new constellations "could therefore face substantial delays and materially higher launch costs," von der Ropp said.
This week, Ukraine and European lawmakers moved to explore alternatives to Starlink, framing the issue as a matter of national security.
Their concern is that access to a critical communications service could potentially be disrupted "as a consequence of Musk's political agenda," said von der Ropp.
"The degree of soft power SpaceX has accumulated over companies, governments and militaries is substantial, and that has now become very visible," von der Ropp said. "Inevitably, this is creating mistrust and accelerating demand for alternatives."
Zelenskyy wrote Wednesday in a post on X that he met with Norwegian officials and Kongsberg, a Norwegian defense company, to discuss air defense systems and "launching work on new satellite communication capabilities for our warriors."
Musk enjoyed accolades for providing Starlink terminals and satellite internet service during the early days of the war, but relations have soured between the world's richest person and Ukrainian officials over the years.
Musk previously ordered SpaceX engineers to shut off Starlink's satellite network over Crimea to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships, according to a chapter in the 2023 Musk biography written by Walter Isaacson. Musk disputed the report. The revelation drew rebuke from Ukrainian officials, including a top Zelenskyy aide, who said it led to Ukrainian civilians being killed.
"This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego," Mykhailo Podolyak, a top Zelenskyy advisor, wrote in a post on X, then known as Twitter.
Musk has also repeatedly argued that Ukraine should strike a "truce" with Russia and cede ownership of Crimea, a strategically important territory, to Putin.
Musk's treatment of Ukraine played a part in Canada's decision to cut ties with Starlink. Officials in India and Taiwan have also expressed wariness of Starlink, citing national security concerns and preferring to adopt a mass communications service that's not controlled by SpaceX.
Musk lashed out at Indian "oligarchs" for stalling the Starlink rollout in the country.
He's also targeted some of Starlink's prospective enterprise customers.
Starlink has become the dominant provider for airlines' in-flight satellite Wi-Fi service, signing on dozens of carriers, including United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
But Delta Air Lines is one of the few carriers to choose Amazon's Leo service.
Earlier this month, Musk posted on X that Delta CEO Ed Bastian would "lose his job" over not choosing Starlink, following unconfirmed comments posted on X that Bastian told employees, "We do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me."
Bastian denied making the comment, and told CNBC on Oct. 9 that he's a "big fan" of Starlink and even drives a Tesla.
"All this nonsense about it being personal is not true at all," he said.
-- CNBC's Elsa Ohlen and Leslie Josephs contributed reporting to this story.
WATCH: Musk reportedly ordered Starlink slowdown for Ukraine