Report Says Musk Ordered Starshield Slowdown, Affecting Ukraine Drone Interceptions
The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, reported that Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of Starshield, Starlink’s military version, last week. Ukraine’s president said slower speeds left the country unable to intercept some jet-powered Shahed drones.
Investor Ross Gerber said Tuesday that Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX ) CEO Elon Musk and Donald Trump ‘s administration are both guilty of the deaths of innocent people in Ukraine, accusing the White House of trying to pass the blame for a Starlink slowdown that Musk reportedly ordered. Musk, Trump and the Starlink Call Musk ordered the slowdown of Starshield, the military version of the service, last week, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The report, citing U.S.
officials and people familiar with the matter, said Musk and President Donald Trump discussed the decision on a call soon after the slowdown became public. One person said the two also discussed the matter before “the decision to throttle Starlink.” SpaceX and the White House did not respond to ’s request for comment. In a post on X, Gerber said that the administration “wants to pass the blame” and that “both are guilty for the deaths of many innocent people.” He predicted both would be held to account in two years, adding that “the pendulum always swings back.” Seems like the administration wants to pass the blame.
Bottom line is both are guilty for the deaths of many innocent people. They will be held to account in two years… the pendulum always swings back. — Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) October 20, 2026 Trump will complete his second presidential term in January 2029. Read Also: SpaceX and Tesla Merger Soon?
Crypto Prediction Market Punters Are Betting on This Date as Elon Musk Calls the Combination a 'Good Idea' Musk May Have Acted Unilaterally, Officials Say Trump has denied that he or Musk was behind the slowdown, while the SpaceX CEO had posted on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Some U.S. officials said Musk acted unilaterally, but a person familiar told the Journal he spoke with senior administration officials, including Trump, before imposing the cap.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a deal to waive sanctions on Russian diesel exports and said Ukraine should vote for a new president, while blaming Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries for higher diesel prices. Ukraine Says Slowdown Hampered Drone Interceptions Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the slower speeds left Ukraine unable to intercept some jet-powered Shahed drones that attack civilians. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he had a positive conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Starlink, ballistic missile interceptors, and intelligence. “So, this morning began with positive signals from the American side.
We now also have a constructive dialogue,” he added. Today we discussed security guarantees, and I'm thankful to the American side for underlining again that they have to be strong. There are different kinds of security guarantees on paper — in the document — which Steve will share with the Russians. We will hear his feedback… pic.twitter.com/SjyKs4d8mv — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 20, 2026 Price Action: SpaceX’s shares closed 0.11% lower on Tuesday, but rose 8.06% to $159.70 in extended trading.
Edge rankings indicate SpaceX’s stock has a negative price trend in the short term, with a positive price trend over the medium and long term. See More: Top Growth Stocks Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published editors. Photo: bella1105 on Shutterstock.com