Author Walter Isaacson took to social media Friday night to try to “clarify” an excerpt from his upcoming book, “Elon Musk.” The excerpt received swift backlash after it described how Musk thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

Isaacson’s excerpt claims that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ordered engineers to shut off Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea last year in order to disrupt a Ukrainian military initiative. This move occurred amidst Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments were supporting Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems.

Musk later expressed his concerns about Starlink’s involvement in wars and worried that the Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels could escalate into a nuclear war.

However, Isaacson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared new details. He clarified that the Ukrainians believed Starlink coverage extended to Crimea, but it was not enabled. They requested Musk to enable it for their drone attack on the Russian fleet, but Musk decided against it, fearing the consequences of triggering a major war.

Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Russia’s Black Sea warships. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Black Sea fleet launched missiles on Ukrainian coastal cities and imposed a devastating naval blockade.

Isaacson’s clarifications came after a senior aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Musk for his actions described in the excerpt. The aide claimed that by not interfering with Starlink, Musk allowed the Russian fleet to attack Ukrainian cities with missiles, resulting in civilian casualties.

Isaacson’s complete book will be released on Tuesday.

Read the full excerpt in the Washington Post.

Author Walter Isaacson took to social media Friday night to try to “clarify” an excerpt from his upcoming book, “Elon Musk.” The excerpt received swift backlash after it described how Musk thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

Isaacson’s excerpt claims that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ordered engineers to shut off Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea last year in order to disrupt a Ukrainian military initiative. This move occurred amidst Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments were supporting Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems.

Musk later expressed his concerns about Starlink’s involvement in wars and worried that the Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels could escalate into a nuclear war.

However, Isaacson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared new details. He clarified that the Ukrainians believed Starlink coverage extended to Crimea, but it was not enabled. They requested Musk to enable it for their drone attack on the Russian fleet, but Musk decided against it, fearing the consequences of triggering a major war.

Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Russia’s Black Sea warships. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Black Sea fleet launched missiles on Ukrainian coastal cities and imposed a devastating naval blockade.

Isaacson’s clarifications came after a senior aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Musk for his actions described in the excerpt. The aide claimed that by not interfering with Starlink, Musk allowed the Russian fleet to attack Ukrainian cities with missiles, resulting in civilian casualties.

Isaacson’s complete book will be released on Tuesday.

Read the full excerpt in the Washington Post.

Author Walter Isaacson took to social media Friday night to try to “clarify” an excerpt from his upcoming book, “Elon Musk.” The excerpt received swift backlash after it described how Musk thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

Isaacson’s excerpt claims that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ordered engineers to shut off Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea last year in order to disrupt a Ukrainian military initiative. This move occurred amidst Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments were supporting Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems.

Musk later expressed his concerns about Starlink’s involvement in wars and worried that the Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels could escalate into a nuclear war.

However, Isaacson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared new details. He clarified that the Ukrainians believed Starlink coverage extended to Crimea, but it was not enabled. They requested Musk to enable it for their drone attack on the Russian fleet, but Musk decided against it, fearing the consequences of triggering a major war.

Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Russia’s Black Sea warships. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Black Sea fleet launched missiles on Ukrainian coastal cities and imposed a devastating naval blockade.

Isaacson’s clarifications came after a senior aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Musk for his actions described in the excerpt. The aide claimed that by not interfering with Starlink, Musk allowed the Russian fleet to attack Ukrainian cities with missiles, resulting in civilian casualties.

Isaacson’s complete book will be released on Tuesday.

Read the full excerpt in the Washington Post.

Author Walter Isaacson took to social media Friday night to try to “clarify” an excerpt from his upcoming book, “Elon Musk.” The excerpt received swift backlash after it described how Musk thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

Isaacson’s excerpt claims that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ordered engineers to shut off Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea last year in order to disrupt a Ukrainian military initiative. This move occurred amidst Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments were supporting Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems.

Musk later expressed his concerns about Starlink’s involvement in wars and worried that the Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels could escalate into a nuclear war.

However, Isaacson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared new details. He clarified that the Ukrainians believed Starlink coverage extended to Crimea, but it was not enabled. They requested Musk to enable it for their drone attack on the Russian fleet, but Musk decided against it, fearing the consequences of triggering a major war.

Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Russia’s Black Sea warships. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Black Sea fleet launched missiles on Ukrainian coastal cities and imposed a devastating naval blockade.

Isaacson’s clarifications came after a senior aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Musk for his actions described in the excerpt. The aide claimed that by not interfering with Starlink, Musk allowed the Russian fleet to attack Ukrainian cities with missiles, resulting in civilian casualties.

Isaacson’s complete book will be released on Tuesday.

Read the full excerpt in the Washington Post.