Report: Elon Musk Joined Trump's Call with Zelenskyy

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NOV 9 2024

Above: Elon Musk speaks during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2024 in New York City. Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated NOV 9 2024

The Facts

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk joined this week's call between US Pres.-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a report in Axios on Friday.
Earlier in the week, hours after Trump's election win, Zelenskyy said he had an "excellent" call with the Republican, stating that the pair "agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation," but made no mention of Musk's participation.
According to sources who spoke to Axios, the call lasted roughly 25 minutes and Musk weighed in to state that he'll continue to support Ukraine with his Starlink satellites. While details were scant, the outlet further quoted a source who said the call "didn't leave Zelenskyy with a feeling of despair."

The Spin

Narrative A

What was interesting about this call was that despite Trump's pledges to end the Ukraine war quickly, likely to the country's detriment, sources said that Zelenskyy did not leave the call with a feeling of despair. It's also interesting that Musk pledged to continue supporting Ukraine with Starlink despite his previously reported clashes with Zelenskyy.

Axios

Narrative B

Musk's participation in this call raises yet more questions about the role he might play in a Trump presidency. Previous reports suggested that Musk has been in regular contact with Russia's Vladimir Putin since 2022 and this raised significant national security concerns, particularly as his SpaceX firm has close contacts with NASA and gives him security clearance.

CNN