"Sir, have your ignorance and arrogance cost Ukrainians their lives?" Musk, the founder of the US Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX), was repeatedly asked by reporters on Wednesday (13th) local time, to which he did not respond. According to reports from many foreign media such as Yahoo News and the US "Business Insider" website, the above question came from British Sky News reporter James Matthews. On the 13th, Musk attended a meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C., and was questioned as he left.
On the 13th local time, Musk was asked by British Sky News reporter James Matthews, "Has your arrogance cost Ukrainians their lives?", but he ignored him. Source: Sky News video screenshot
After asking Musk about the revelation that he had shut down Starlink to prevent the Ukrainian army from attacking the Russian fleet, Matthews then asked, "A Ukrainian official said that you made Vladimir Putin the aggressor. What do you think of this?"
"Vladimir Putin said you were an exceptional person, Mr. Musk. Are you grateful for that? What do you call Vladimir Putin? Sir, is it your ego and ignorance that is costing Ukrainians their lives? A senior official said it was," Matthews asked.
The report mentioned that Musk ignored the above issues and did not respond. The video shows that Musk finally got into the car under the escort of security personnel.
Recently, Musk has been involved in controversy due to the "Starlink shutdown" incident. On the 7th of this month, CNN cited the new book "The Biography of Elon Musk" to reveal that Musk secretly ordered engineers to shut down the "Starlink" Internet satellite communication system near the coast of Crimea last year to prevent the Ukrainian army from secretly attacking the Russian fleet. The billionaire came under fire after the news broke. However, after Musk himself clarified, the revelation was found to be a misunderstanding. According to the author Isaacson's understanding, Musk took the initiative to interrupt the local "Starlink" service because he was worried that Ukraine's sneak attack would directly lead to a small "Pearl Harbor incident" and a nuclear war; but in fact, the "Starlink" in the Crimea region was not activated at all.
According to "Russia Today" (RT), after it was revealed that "turning off the 'Starlink' to prevent the Ukrainian army from secretly attacking the Russian fleet" caused controversy, Musk issued a message on the 11th saying that he was only an American citizen and had no obligation to fight for Kiev. "I am an American citizen and only have that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight and die for the United States." Musk said that since "the United States Congress has not declared war on Russia, if anyone is treasonous, it is those who say I am treasonous. Please tell those people clearly."
In addition, according to RT and The Daily Beast reports, Musk once again responded to the issue of "Starlink" near Crimea on the 12th. He said that this was related to the U.S. sanctions on Russia, including the Crimea region. "When this happened, the area (communication services) around Crimea was actually shut down." Musk said at the 2023 All-In Technology Conference in Los Angeles that day. "Now, the reason it is shut down is actually because...the United States has imposed sanctions on Russia...including (sanctions) on the Crimea region."