Elon Musk Joined Trump’s Call With Ukraine’s Zelenskiy
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk joined a call between President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, highlighting the billionaire entrepreneur’s influence within the incoming US administration.
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Musk was in the room when the call took place, according to the person familiar with the discussion. Trump put the phone on speaker to allow Musk to participate, said the person, requesting anonymity to share details about the private call.
Axios first reported that Musk was on Trump’s call with Zelenskiy. The person characterized it as a short conversation and said Musk’s participation was not planned in advance, adding that Trump often likes to include those in the room when he takes calls.
Musk, the world’s richest person, threw his wealth and influence behind Trump’s campaign, joining the president-elect at his victory party earlier this week. Trump has said he would enlist Musk, who runs SpaceX and Tesla Inc., for a role in his new administration focused on reducing spending.
A second person familiar with the call said Zelenskiy spoke to Musk for several minutes and thanked him for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-based internet system, which has kept Ukraine connected since the war began in February 2022.
Trump, before his victory, vowed to broker a deal between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the years-long invasion of Ukraine. Such a deal would potentially involve Ukraine giving up swaths of territory currently occupied by Russian forces.
Zelenskiy on Thursday called for “a fair ending to the war” and warned that a swift end to hostilities could force his country into a defeat.
Trump on Thursday told NBC News that he had not yet spoken with Putin following the election, but expected to do so in the coming days.
--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska.
(Updates with further details from second source, in fifth paragraph.)
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