Elon Musk has changed in stature this year.
The whimsical and charismatic CEO of Tesla (TSLA) has broken down the wall erected between the bosses of big companies and the political world.
He broke down this wall without worrying about the tradition that executives do not give their political opinions to avoid offending the opposing camp.
This wall was very long on the international scene, especially for large companies which are often forced to remain silent in the face of policies contrary to the values they defend. This silence allows them to stay in key markets and secure a significant source of income.
The billionaire surprisingly lent his support to Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded the country on February 24.
Words and Actions
"Hold Strong Ukraine," the tech tycoon posed on Twitter on March 4.
He accompanied this support with actions a few days later. The Tech tycoon and his aerospace company SpaceX had agreed to provide Ukraine with a key service as the country's communications infrastructure was destroyed by the Russian military.
This service is Starlink which is a secure internet access via satellite. Starlink has become the revelation of this Russia-Ukraine war which has already killed thousands and displaced millions more.
Starlink is the only remaining communication system for the Ukrainian armed forces on the front.
"Starlink is only comms system still working at warfront – others all dead," he said on Oct. 14. "Russia is actively trying to kill Starlink. To safeguard, SpaceX has diverted massive resources towards defense. Even so, Starlink may still die."
This made the service a target of Russian cyberattacks, increasing the cost and losses for SpaceX, which finances part of the antennas provided to Ukraine.
Faced with mounting losses, Musk recently threatened to cut the service if the US government, which also supports Ukraine through NATO, did not provide some funding. The billionaire later withdrew this request after the controversy it had sparked.
"The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," he announced on Twitter on Oct. 15.