MUSK AT RISK?
Elon Musk’s dad Errol fears his son ‘might be assassinated’ as Tesla CEO faces Justice Department’s legal attacks
– Will a Twitter employee cut his throat?
– Will he be shot with a deer rifle from across the street at Twitter/X HQ?
– Will some sort of shell-fish toxin find its way into his sandwich?
– Is plutonium already working it’s way through his body?
– Will his many sex efforts result in AIDS?
ELON Musk’s dad fears that the world’s richest man could be assassinated for going up against the US government.
Retired slave mine owner Errol Musk, 77, says he has serious concerns for his firstborn son’s safety.
Musk, 52, is currently weathering a flurry of legal attacks from the Department of Justice and negative press.
It comes after President Joe Biden suggested in July that “there’s a lot of ways” of investigating the tech tycoon.
Musk has previously joked that he could “die in mysterious circumstances”.
But Errol exclusively told The U.S. Sun that both he and Elon are worried about what could happen to him.
Reacting to a recent New Yorker piece by journalist Ronan Farrow titled “Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule,” Errol said: “It’s a hit job, a shadow government-sponsored opening salvo on Elon.
“The artillery-like softening up of the enemy before the actual attack and preparing of the ever-submissive people for the attack.”
Asked if he fears that the “shadow government” will try to assassinate Elon, he replied: “Yes.”
Errol, who has previously told The U.S. Sun that he warned his son to beef up his security, said Elon shares the same fear.
Farrow’s article claimed that Musk’s “influence is more brazen and expansive” than previous “meddling of oligarchs and other monied interests in the fate of nations.”
It was published just days before the Department of Justice sued Musk’s SpaceX for allegedly discriminating against asylum recipients and refugees in hiring.
On Wednesday, it emerged that federal prosecutors are also probing Tesla’s alleged use of company funds to build Musk a mansion in Texas.
The legal moves come after Joe Biden suggested in July that Musk could be investigated for buying X, formerly Twitter, with the help of a Saudi Arabian conglomerate.
Asked if Musk was a threat to national security, the president said: “Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at.
“Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that.
“I’m suggesting they’re worth being looked at and that’s all I’ll say.
“There’s a lot of ways.”
Musk has enraged critics since he took over Twitter in November last year.
He has been accused of allowing a rise in hate speech and disinformation on the social media platform, which he recently rebranded as X.
His supporters say that he has allowed greater freedom of speech following allegations of mass censorship on the platform under pressure from government agencies.
On Tuesday – the day before the DOJ announced its discrimination case against SpaceX – X said: “We’re currently expanding our safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation, surfacing inauthentic accounts and closely monitoring the platform for emerging threats.
“Our work is ongoing. These increased investments in people, policy and product will further ensure our communities have access to open, accurate and safe political discourse on X.”
Elon joked that he could be assassinated after the former Russian space agency boss Dmitry Rogozin made a veiled threat over Musk supplying his Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine in May last year.
Musk appeared more serious when he said in December that there is “definitely some risk” that he could be killed.
He told an audio chat on Twitter Spaces: “Frankly, the risk of something bad happening to me, or even literally being shot, is quite significant.
“It’s not that hard to kill somebody if you wanted to, so hopefully they don’t, and fate smiles upon the situation with me, and it does not happen.”
Errol told The U.S. Sun in June that he believes Elon has put himself in a “no-win situation” with a proposed cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
He also said the “humiliation would be total” for Elon if he loses against Zuckerberg.
Errol also slammed an AI-generated pic of his son as “totally inaccurate” and shared childhood photos to prove his point.
In April, Errol revealed details about his claim to have once bought a share in an emerald business in Zambia, which Elon has disputed.
Earlier this year, Errol told The U.S. Sun that his son is a “force for good” who also believed that the internet would have been invented by the year 1900 if Napoleon Bonaparte hadn’t been defeated.
And in September last year, Errol admitted to shooting and killing Black men in South Africa in 1998.
Also last year, The U.S. Sun revealed Errol’s claim that he had fathered a child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, and that he had been asked to donate sperm to impregnate high-class women in Colombia.
An egomaniac tech king, his vast satellite empire and a major war – and no, it’s not a Bond movie… After fears Musk would turn OFF vital Starlink internet in Ukraine, TOM LEONARD asks: Just HOW much power should one billionaire have?
In the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, one of the most far-fetched James Bond movies ever made, Pierce Brosnan’s 007 fights a megalomaniac international media baron determined to boost the fortunes of his satellite news empire by starting a war between China and the West. Quite why he’s spending many billions engineering a global conflict when his news outlets couldn’t hope to recoup more than a fraction of that sum by covering the war is never explained. Nonetheless, some may have been reminded of this ludicrous plot a few days ago when a former Pentagon official warned that a not-entirely dissimilar scenario – involving a mercurial tech king, his satellite empire, and a major war (though not one by design) – is playing out in the real world. According to Colin Kahl, who served as US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy until July, Elon Musk recently considered pulling his Starlink satellite network from Ukraine – a move that would have devastating consequences on the beleaguered nation’s war effort. Why? Because Musk feared the satellites were making him unpopular with President Putin.
In the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, one of the most far-fetched James Bond movies ever made, Pierce Brosnan’s 007 fights a megalomaniac international media baron determined to boost the fortunes of his satellite news empire by starting a war between China and the West.
Quite why he’s spending many billions engineering a global conflict when his news outlets couldn’t hope to recoup more than a fraction of that sum by covering the war is never explained.
Nonetheless, some may have been reminded of this ludicrous plot a few days ago when a former Pentagon official warned that a not-entirely dissimilar scenario – involving a mercurial tech king, his satellite empire, and a major war (though not one by design) – is playing out in the real world.
According to Colin Kahl, who served as US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy until July, Elon Musk recently considered pulling his Starlink satellite network from Ukraine – a move that would have devastating consequences on the beleaguered nation’s war effort.
Why? Because Musk feared the satellites were making him unpopular with President Putin.
In the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, one of the most far-fetched James Bond movies ever made, Pierce Brosnan’s 007 fights a megalomaniac international media baron determined to boost the fortunes of his satellite news empire by starting a war between China and the West. (Pictured: Jonathan Pryce in Tomorrow Never Dies).
Some may have been reminded of this ludicrous plot a few days ago when a former Pentagon official warned that a not-entirely dissimilar scenario – involving a mercurial tech king, his satellite empire, and a major war (though not one by design) – is playing out in the real world. (Pictured: Pierce Brosnan as Bond).
According to Colin Kahl, who served as US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy until July, Elon Musk (pictured) recently considered pulling his Starlink satellite network from Ukraine, a move that would have devastating consequences on the beleaguered nation’s war effort.
The Tesla billionaire, who didn’t get to be the world’s richest person by ignoring his best interests, wanted to avoid being perceived as a warmonger by the Kremlin.
And he’d been making his feelings quietly clear on the ground in Ukraine – where forces have relied solely on Musk’s satellites for everything from communication between troops, to intelligence gathering, and drone and artillery strikes, after their system was knocked out by Russian hackers just before the invasion in February.
Indeed, when the Ukrainians went on the offense earlier this year and advanced into territory occupied by Russia, they suddenly discovered to their dismay that the internet connection had gone down.
Kahl had the job of brokering a deal to prevent Musk from switching the system off altogether.
‘If you turn this off, it doesn’t end the war,’ Kahl recalled telling Musk in an interview with The New Yorker.
‘My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink’s involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns.’
Alarmingly for the US, Kahl says Musk told him he’d had a ‘great conversation’ with Putin.
Musk also expressed his displeasure that his company was providing the internet service to beleaguered Ukraine for free which, according to an estimate by CNN, has cost the tycoon – who’s personally worth some $258 billion – nearly $400 million a year.
In June, the Pentagon announced it had reached a deal with SpaceX – Musk’s space exploration company that controls Starlink – which is thought to include protection against him ever switching off the service.
Over-mighty billionaires meddling in world affairs is hardly a new phenomenon – but the infamously mercurial Musk and his ability to deal an instant and devastating blow to one or other side in a conflict has prompted growing alarm around the world.
For it’s a world that has allowed itself to become dangerously reliant on the goodwill of a man who doesn’t answer to either governments or voters.
When the Ukrainians went on the offense earlier this year and advanced into territory occupied by Russia, they suddenly discovered to their dismay that the internet connection had gone down. A deal had to be brokered to prevent Musk from switching the system off altogether.
Alarmingly, Musk reportedly said he had a ‘great conversation’ with Putin – and also expressed his displeasure that his company was providing the internet service to Ukraine for free which, according to an estimate by CNN, has cost the tycoon nearly $400 million a year.
A South-African born, Texas-based polymath who has vowed to conquer the stars but who is so seemingly thin-skinned he gets into childish spats with complete strangers on his recently acquired Twitter and challenges Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to cage fights.
His controlling nature is reportedly so intense that he told first wife Justine Wilson as they danced at their wedding: ‘I am the alpha in this relationship.’
Now, many Americans may fear Musk is increasingly the ‘alpha’ in his relationship with his adopted country.
For instance, the US currently relies on SpaceX as the only way of getting NASA crews into space.
It also relies on Musk heavily for a future dominated by electric car use, with Tesla already comfortably ruling the market (reporting record profits of $12.6 billion in 2022), including through its proprietary charging stations.
In February, the Biden administration agreed a deal potentially worth billions for Musk to let electric cars made by competitors use his chargers.
Musk even has the whip hand when it comes to social media, as no matter how much he meddles with Twitter, now rebranded as X, it still remains the go-to site for US politicians, business leaders and average citizens looking for a debate.
However, it’s Musk’s satellite company – which most people hadn’t even heard of before the Ukraine war – that has prompted the most concern about his outsized and unelected influence in global affairs.
A ‘constellation’ of satellites owned by Starlink is currently spinning around the Earth in low orbit at 16,000 mph beaming an internet connection down to almost anywhere.
In 2019, the company sent its first 60 or so satellites into orbit. Today, it has around 4,500 up there, which is more than half the 8,000 total number of Earth’s satellites.
The sci-fi buff really is conquering space then, as he’s rapidly built a huge lead over his commercial rivals.
However, it’s Musk’s satellite company – which most people hadn’t even heard of before the Ukraine war – that has prompted the most concern about his outsized and unelected influence in global affairs. (Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers receive Starlink terminals).
In 2019, the company sent its first 60 or so satellites into orbit. Today, it has around 4,500 up there, which is more than half the 8,000 total number of Earth’s satellites. The sci-fi buff really is conquering space then, as he’s rapidly built a huge lead over his commercial rivals. (Pictured: SpaceX Starlink satellite launch).
Starlink is often the only way to get internet access in war zones, remote areas and places hit by natural disaster. Rival companies and even governments are now belatedly trying to catch up.
But, because only so many satellites can fit into the same orbit, Musk’s competitors are forced to position their own satellites much further out into space which is costlier and less effective.
Starlink was initially intended for civil use – but the Ukraine conflict has proven how such technology can play a crucial role in modern warfare.
Indeed, without Musk’s intervention in February last year when he donated thousands of satellite terminals (some covered by the US tax payer) to the Ukrainian war effort, President Zelensky’s defences could have crumbled in days.
Quite why the West allowed a private company to gain such a crushing dominance in a field as essential as satellite communications will be a question for historians. But, as with the way in which firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon were allowed to develop market domination, governments tend not to see the potential threats until it is too late.
Now, Western officials complain they are powerless to force Musk’s hand and can only persuade – or cajole – him to use his satellite network as they would want.
As a US defense official told journalist Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker about the Ukraine spat: ‘It wasn’t like we could hold [Musk] in breach of contract or something.’
Or as a former NASA official said: ‘There is only one thing worse than a government monopoly. And that is a private monopoly that the government is dependent on… I do worry that we have put all of our eggs into one basket, and it’s the SpaceX basket.’
Without Musk’s intervention in February last year when he donated thousands of satellite terminals (some covered by the US tax payer) to the Ukrainian war effort, President Zelensky’s defences could have crumbled in days. Now, Western officials complain they are powerless to force Musk’s hand and can only persuade him to use his satellite network as they would want.
And what if that all-powerful monopolist is an increasingly loose cannon?
Musk’s mental state has become of growing concern. He is an uber-workaholic who happily sleeps in his office and spends almost every waking hour working.
That has consequences.
In 2018, the New York Times reported that members of the Tesla board had become worried about Musk’s use of the prescription sleep aid Ambien, which can cause hallucinations.
Musk is also not shy about admitting he takes recreational drugs.
When he controversially smoked cannabis while speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2019, the Pentagon ordered a review of his security clearance in connection with SpaceX.
According a Wall Street Journal report, for the past few years he has been taking the horse tranquillizer ketamine, a party drug which is also increasingly used to treat depression (a trend Musk has discussed on Twitter although he hasn’t confirmed his own use).
Experts say ketamine can lead to unpredictable behavior and, at higher doses, disassociation – a condition in which the user feels detached from their body and surroundings.
Ketamine researcher Amit Anand said: ‘You can feel grandiose and like you have special powers or special talents. People do impulsive things, they could do inadvisable things at work.’
But while raring for a fight with the head of Facebook is one thing, Musk’s seemingly vacillating behavior towards Russia is infinitely more alarming.
Last March, Musk took to Twitter to challenge Vladimir Putin – a judo expert – to ‘single combat’ to settle the Ukraine conflict. Funnily enough, such a meeting didn’t happen, but Musk’s planet-sized ego continued to assure him that he could find a solution to the ongoing crisis.
In October, Musk invited his Twitter followers to vote on a peace plan he said he’d dreamt up which involved Ukraine giving up its sovereignty over the contested Crimea region and implementing UN-supervised elections in other regions that Russia has invaded.
Musk’s mental state has become of growing concern. He is an uber-workaholic who happily sleeps in his office and spends almost every waking hour working. When he controversially smoked cannabis while speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2019, the Pentagon ordered a review of his security clearance in connection with SpaceX.
But while raring for a fight with the head of Facebook is one thing, Musk’s seemingly vacillating behavior towards Russia is infinitely more alarming. (Pictured: Mark Zuckerberg, left).
The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany’s response was blunt: ‘F*** off is my very diplomatic reply to you.’
The spectacularly oversensitive tycoon tends to react rather badly to strong criticism so, in retrospect, Ukraine was very lucky he didn’t switch off the satellite link then and there.
But Ukraine and the US are hardly the only countries which are worried about keeping on the right side of Elon Musk.
Conflict experts generally predict that Taiwan will be the most likely next location of a war as China finally resorts to invading the disputed country.
But as the Taiwanese well know, Musk has a crucial business relationship with China – which is Tesla’s biggest market after the US – that he may well not want to jeopardize by providing the Taiwanese military with the satellite service Ukraine enjoys now.
Last October, Musk outlined to the Financial Times his own ‘solution’ for the decades-old Taiwan-China problem – making the island into a ‘special administrative zone’ similar to Hong Kong. But, given China has all but crushed democracy and human rights in the latter, the Taiwanese were justifiably not impressed.
Certainly, it sticks in the craw to have to take any foreign policy advice from an unelected and erratic businessman with a reputation for combining entrepreneurial genius with apparent stupidity.
However, until the world can stop relying on Elon Musk, it would be well-advised to sit up and listen when he opens his mouth.
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An egomaniac tech king, his vast satellite empire and a major war – and no, it’s not a Bond movie… After fears Musk would turn OFF vital Starlink internet in Ukraine, TOM LEONARD asks: Just HOW much power should one billionaire have?
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