Elon Musk is increasingly acting as an influential figure in global politics and domestic affairs.
TOI Correspondent from Washington: The richest man in the world wants a promotion. Elon Musk has conquered electric cars, rockets and social media. He now appears to be auditioning for a job that does not exist on any company payroll: global power broker, with a say in who governs Ukraine, who wins American elections, and who gets to do business in India - all without the responsibility of getting elected himself.In another provocative post on his platform X, Musk on Thursday called for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to leave office, delivering the message as Kyiv grappled with restrictions affecting its use of the satellite communications network that has become indispensable to its war effort. “And so the slaughter continues… Time for Zelensky to go,” Musk wrote, echoing President Trump’s demand that Ukraine get a new leader capable of striking a deal with Russia, which has returned to good books in MAGA-land.
The intervention came amid a fresh deterioration in US-Ukraine relations after Zelenskyy criticised Washington’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports and warned that the move could embolden Moscow.The episode captures the extraordinary evolution of Musk from tech whiz entrepreneur into an unelected actor with the capacity to influence elections, shape domestic politics and foreign policy, and potentially affect the military calculations of countries at war.
The world’s richest man commands a formidable arsenal of influence: SpaceX’s satellite network, Tesla’s industrial and technological reach, a social-media platform with 241 million followers and hundreds of millions of users, and the financial resources to bankroll political campaigns.
Increasingly, those assets appear to operate not merely as commercial enterprises but as instruments of political leverage.Ukraine’s dependence on starlink has made Musk’s relationship with Kyiv particularly consequential. The network provides communications for troops, logistics and drones, including systems used to intercept Russian attacks. Ukraine’s military and civilian infrastructure have come to rely on connectivity that European alternatives cannot readily replace. Ukrainian officials reported this week that restrictions affecting some satellite terminals travelling at high speeds disrupted drone operations and air-defence capabilities.
The circumstances raised suspicions that Washington or SpaceX was seeking to constrain Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure amid Trump’s push for a settlement.Musk denied starlink’s restrictions, drawing a distinction between his company’s commercial network, and Starshield, its military-grade system controlled by the US government. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” he wrote, referring to starshield and passing the buck to Trump.Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose country pays for Ukrainian starlink subscriptions, challenged Musk directly: “Hey, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.” US Senator Jeanne Shaheen also demanded an end to restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield, warning: “Lives are at stake.” republican congressman Dan Crenshaw compared the US withholding assistance to watching a friend die while holding the medicine that could save him.((Musk’s influence is not confined to foreign affairs. His return as a major republican benefactor after his brief rupture with Trump has made him one of the most consequential individual financiers in American politics. According to recent estimates, Musk has spent approximately $366 million in the 2026 US midterm election cycle, including $276 million since July, largely to help Republicans retain control of Congress.
The splurging, particularly if the GOP wins, would give him extraordinary access and influence within a party whose legislative decisions could affect his companies, government contracts and regulatory exposure.Musk himself acknowledged in July that his political involvement had gone too far. Asked by The Economist’s editor, Zanny Minton Beddoes, whether he regretted his role in domestic politics, he replied: “I think I got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly.”
His subsequent return to big-money republican campaigning suggests that the retreat was temporary.))Musk’s willingness to use provocative language about political power was on display well before his alliance with Trump. In July 2020, when a critic accused the US government of organising a coup in Bolivia to secure lithium for Tesla, Musk clapped back: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.” The exchange followed the removal of Bolivian president Evo Morales in November 2019, an event Morales and his supporters described as a coup.
Bolivia gas vast lithium resources, essential for electric-vehicle batteries, making the allegation particularly explosive. Musk later deleted the post, but its significance lay in the apparent nonchalance with which one of the world’s most powerful businessmen treated the prospect of regime change.Musk’s confrontation with India over Starlink’s delayed entry into the country provides another illustration of how readily he deploys his platform to advance commercial objectives.
Frustrated by regulatory delays, he first accused unnamed oligarchs of obstructing Starlink to preserve a “monopolistic chokehold” in India. He subsequently challenged the influence of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, asking on X: “Is Ambani the real boss of India?” He followed up with a sarcastic message beginning, “Dear Prime Minister Ambani,” mocking what he portrayed as the industrialist’s power over the country’s decision-making.New Delhi has rejected the suggestion that its regulatory framework discriminated against Starlink, saying satellite operators were at broadly the same stage of regulatory scrutiny and undergoing security assessments. The dispute is nevertheless revealing. By publicly questioning the influence of a rival, Musk has turned a regulatory and commercial dispute into a contest over political power.