Elon Musk’s Most Alarming Power Grab

When Elon Musk’s engineers bundled a batch of prototype satellites into a rocket’s nose cone six years ago, there were fewer than 2,000 functional satellites in Earth’s orbit. Many more would soon be on the way: More than 7,000 of his satellites now surround Earth like a cloud of gnats. This fleet, which works to provide space-based internet service to the ground, dwarfs those of all other private companies and nation-states put together. Starlink’s internet service is now in planes, ships at sea, deep jungles, tundras, and deserts. In Gaza, medics have used Starlink while healing the wounded. At times when the people of Myanmar and Sudan learned that their autocratic governments had shut the internet off, they turned to Starlink. Ukraine’s soldiers use it to communicate on the front lines. Musk’s ability to deliver this crucial service—the ability to coordinate action in conflict zones—has given him unprecedented geopolitical leverage for a private citizen.