Elon Musk displayed a willingness to undercut American foreign policy with his decision to turn off Starlink while Ukraine attempted to operate in Crimea. Allegedly, he has done it again, although this time the company (SpaceX) claims it was a maintenance outage rather than have its CEO gloatingly admit to doing it himself.
What he has done may have broken the law. Moreover, there are national interests at stake that coincide with my view that we should take some action against this creepy villain. There are both foreign and domestic policy concerns.
So, what should be done? What can be done? What do we have the will to do?
EMINENT DOMAIN/NATIONALIZATION
Courts have held that the Federal Government has the power of eminent domain as a sovereign. All that has to be done is the payment of a reasonable fair market price. It has been used for over a century regarding railroads and interstate highways and other forms of transportation.
Space is only a slightly different kind of transportation.
If you think differently, here’s Musk proposing city-to-city travel by rocket. On top of that, you don’t have issues of important national security and foreign policy interests involved in most railroad and highway projects. You do in space.
The power is there, we just need the will to get this dangerous lunatic the fuck out of our future.
Nationalization is a similar concept. It occurs when a government turns private assets into public assets. It has historically been used with regard to railways, airlines and telecommunications. Again, what is Starlink but a new form of communication, and what is SpaceX but a new form of transportation?
Downside. The downsides to this approach include the following:
1. Without a war directly involving the United States (e.g., the War Powers Act), it would likely take legislation signed by the President, and that could only happen after January 2025 in the best case scenario.
2. It would be challenged in court and be vulnerable to a conservative Supreme Court majority.
3. It runs against the current trend of privatization—a trend that is dangerous bullshit—but that’s the reality.
WHISTLEBLOWER LAWS/NDA CLAUSES
I’m not privy to any contracts between the United States and SpaceX, but I imagine that contractor whistleblower laws apply, at least in some cases. (They applied in the Snowden case; Greenwald and Snowden lied about that). Still there are some issues that need to be cleared up.
First, it should be established for a fact that Federal whistleblower laws apply to SpaceX. Is it a contractor or a vendor? Inasmuch as Starlink and SpaceX have direct impact on foreign policy, all employees have to be given the power to blow the whistle. Second, any Nondisclosure Agreements signed by SpaceX employees must have zero effect when it comes to their rights as a whistleblower, as a matter of national security.
These are issues that can be explored by the Senate as part of the next section.
SENATE INVESTIGATION/SPECIAL COUNSEL
A Senate investigation into Starlink interference with Ukrainian actions in Crimea needs to gavel in tomorrow. Why did Musk do it? Does he understand there can be consequences? Does he have plans to do it in the future? This can adduce evidence of the need for Nationalization. A thorough investigation with witnesses is necessary.
How much does he know about Ukrainian war plans? Who, if anybody, has he told?
Because a good Senate Investigation is a terrible thing to waste, go over the whistleblower rules, and also find out why Musk has fucked with the Twitter algorithm as it relates to “Ukraine” and “Russia” as trending topics.
Finally, if there is evidence of a crime, the Senate can recommend that the DOJ investigate or appoint a Special Counsel. Although I would usually not consider a Special Counsel appropriate for a private citizen, it was Elon Musk and SpaceX that decided to usurp the power of our Federal government.
Downside. I don’t see one. This should happen soon.
LAWSUITS/BREACH OF CONTRACT/WRONGFUL DEATH
It is a sticky situation with Ukraine still relying on Starlink, but the lawsuit titled Ukraine versus Elon Musk, SpaceX and Starlink, et al., would be nice to see. Breach of Contract would be the subject matter. If there’s an arbitration clause, then arbitrate for damages.
Additionally, I’d hope some enterprising attorneys are working on a class action wrongful death suit representing the families of the dead Ukrainian victims who were killed by missiles fired by the targets of the operation that Musk sabotaged. Although perhaps not available at the present, there will be satellite images that can show which ships fired which missiles that caused loss of life. There will be intelligence reports indicating which of the Russian ships were targeted by Ukrainian drones. Musk should pay for the loss of those lives.
Downside. Regarding a state-sponsored lawsuit, Ukraine better be certain what is contained in their contract with SpaceX, including whether Musk can use a lawsuit as a reason to unilaterally terminate the deal. Regarding the private suit, I don’t see a downside. This should happen. That fuckhead has blood on his hands.
Well, then. What in your estimation is the best course to take?