WSJ: Musk ordered the Starlink slowdown that hit Ukraine's drones; Trump says he was not involved

The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 20, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, that Elon Musk personally ordered a slowdown of the military-grade version of Starlink that Ukraine uses, which hampered drone operations against Russian forces. According to the Reuters write-up of the Journal's story, the order came last week, and Musk and President Trump discussed the move by phone after it became public, and had talked about it beforehand too.

Trump told reporters on Oct. 21 that he was not involved and does not know who gave the order, according to CNBC. Reuters reported separately that the order came from inside the White House, but said it could not verify the Journal's account. Neither Musk, SpaceX nor the White House had commented on the Journal story when Reuters wrote it. We have not independently confirmed who gave the order.

What was actually restricted

Ukrainian officials told Al Jazeera on Oct. 14 that service was limited without warning for terminals moving faster than 100 mph. That matters because fast-moving drones, including interceptors sent after jet-powered Shahed drones, rely on those links. Ukrainian defense-technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said the cut removed one of the country's few ways to defend against Shaheds. Service was later restored, according to the same report.

Musk said on X that any limit on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, is decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington had not pulled back Ukraine's access and that the issue was the terms of service Kyiv must follow, as relayed by Reuters. So there are three accounts on the record: the Journal's (Musk ordered it), Reuters' (the White House ordered it) and Trump's (he does not know).

Why shareholders are watching

SpaceX's government business depends on the Pentagon trusting that its network works as the customer directs. A report that the company's chief executive throttled a military customer's service, or that the government did and he is deflecting, is a contracting and political-risk question either way. We found no filing, contract cancellation or official statement quantifying any revenue at risk, and the Motley Fool lockup explainer we read does not break out Starshield revenue, so we are not putting a number on it.

The timing is the other part of the story. Per the Motley Fool, about 1.3 billion shares become eligible to trade two full trading days after the Oct. 20 earnings report, which points to this week, with another 328 million to follow around Oct. 24. Other outlets give slightly different dates for the second tranche, so check the company's own schedule. An unlock makes shares sellable; it does not mean they will be sold.

SpaceX (SPCX) traded at $150.06 at 11:01 AM ET Thursday, down 5.81% on the day, per Nasdaq.com, against a 52-week range of $104.83 to $225.64. We did not find a source tying today's drop to the Starlink report rather than the unlock, and we are not claiming one.

What to watch

• Whether SpaceX or the Pentagon issues a statement on who set the limit, and on the terms of Ukraine's service.
• Whether Congress, where Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has already called for the restrictions to end, asks for contract details.
• Whether Ukraine's access is fully restored and stays that way.

Our earlier coverage: SpaceX third-quarter results and the Tesla-SpaceX merger committees.

Sources: Wall Street Journal report (Oct. 20) as relayed by Reuters via Korea Times, and CNBC (Oct. 20 and 21); Al Jazeera (Oct. 14); Motley Fool (Oct. 19); Nasdaq.com quote at 11:01 AM ET Oct. 22. Some data may be delayed. This is market information, not investment advice.