Elon Musk ordered Starlink slowdown for Ukraine: Report

Key Points:

• Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of a version of SpaceX's Starlink service used by Ukraine, capping connection speeds and rendering some Ukrainian drones nearly inoperable, according to The Wall Street Journal citing U.S. officials.
• Musk reportedly discussed the decision with former President Donald Trump and senior Trump administration officials before imposing the speed limits on Starlink hardware in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's public complaints about the slowdown prompted an informal investigation within the White House, highlighting concerns over the impact on Ukraine's defense capabilities.
• Musk stated that the military-grade Starshield systems are controlled by the U.S. government, with speed and usage limits ultimately decided by the U.S. military and the President of the United States.
• The White House and SpaceX did not immediately comment on the report, and the issue was not addressed during SpaceX's latest earnings call.