Elon Musk recently purchased Twitter to protect free speech and stand up for American values. Why, then, does he continue to cozy up to one of the most oppressive, undemocratic regimes in the world?
The South China Morning Post reports that world's richest man was featured prominently at a space exploration event at the Communist Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. Unable to appear in person, Musk pre-recorded a space travel video that played on three large screens for the embassy audience.
This is a big problem.
It wasn’t some feel-good, inspirational video for kids. It was a video for a country that has long banned Twitter and censored sensitive information to the United States’ detriment, while plotting to dominate the U.S. militarily, especially through space. Yet, Elon Musk tells this country that it “rocks” while he continually coddles it.
China created its Space Force in 2015, shortly after Russia established theirs. China's Space Force is part of the nation’s goal of building a "world-class military" by 2049. Virtually all activity in China — and activity connected to China across the globe — supports this goal and others related to its quest for global domination.
The U.S. government understands the threat that China poses in space. That's one of the primary reasons it created the U.S. Space Force in 2019 — to demonstrate that it recognizes the strategic military implications of space activity and the need to fend off current and future aggression from China in this arena.
In 2019, China began training with missiles that can target satellites in low-earth orbit. More recently, China fielded a device that grabs satellites out of their orbits. It can be used to clear out space debris or remove critical military intelligence satellites. China is also developing lasers that can incapacitate satellite sensors, effectively disabling the satellite.
Within two years, China will have its own space station and plans to conduct an "intermittently crewed" lunar base. Between these attainable goals and its aforementioned antisatellite (ASAT) capabilities, it's clear that China intends to seize and hold the ultimate military high ground. While China has signed the Outer Space Treaty, it seems unlikely that its terms will ultimately be respected or its loopholes left unexploited.
Yet, Elon Musk seems blind to the dangers of his close relationship with the largest totalitarian state in the world.
While he enriches himself with billions of dollars from both the Communist Chinese and the U.S. government, Musk is quick to criticize his adopted country. But he frequently turns a blind eye towards the genocidal regime of Communist China.
For example, the New York Post recently reported that, despite Musk (rightfully) demeaning the United States' COVID lockdowns and ignoring California's shutdown orders for his Tesla plant, he has stayed remarkably silent during China's March 2022 shutdown of all nonessential businesses. Rather than speak out as he has (rightfully) done against U.S. regulators and health officials, he promptly complied and suspended production in the region.
Musk's affection for China may come from the $1.4 billion in loans that the country gave to help him create his Shanghai plant. Nevertheless, as a national security vendor for the U.S. government, his close relationship with the communist regime presents security risks for America, which lawmakers have expressed concern about in the past.
Musk is now the richest man in the world and the owner of Twitter. He doesn't need to indulge enemies of freedom anymore. Here's hoping he stops before it's too late. America is counting on it.
Drew Johnson is a budget, energy and tech policy analyst at several free market think tanks.