Elon Musk and Donald Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict4 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 45%
Deadline: White HouseOct 20, 2026
The claim restates a Wall Street Journal report, relayed by several outlets, that Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public.
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What was said
… Wall Street Journal reports this: quote "Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine. That's according to U.S. Officials and people familiar with the matter. Elon Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week, two of the people said. During the uproar, SpaceX representatives called White House counterparts, seeking a unified understanding and subsequent message that the company and the Trump administration coordinated ahead of Musk's directive, people said. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Trump told reporters "I have not spoken to him" about the restriction decision, which directly contradicts the reported call.[2]
Supports. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that Trump called Musk after the slowdown became public, and Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes and the Independent relay the same account.[3][4][5][6]
Context. Reuters and NBC report Trump declined to say whether he had spoken to Musk, saying "whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference," which neither confirms nor denies the call.[1][7]
Context. The WSJ's account rests on anonymous officials, and the Reuters report says it could not immediately verify it.[8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 1, 3 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Trump says Musk restored Ukraine's Starlink access, declines to say if they spokereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Trump denies speaking to Musk about Starlink but says he will if it’s not fixedthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts
- 3Trump Asked Musk To Lift Starlink Restrictions In Ukraine, Report Saysforbes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Trump Called Musk to Lift Ukraine Starlink Limits, WSJ Saysbloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Trump asked Musk to lift Starlink slowdown, WSJ reportscnbc.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Elon Musk ordered slowing down of Starlink access for Ukrainian army, say reportindependent.co.uk · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Trump says Elon Musk restored Ukraine's Starlink access ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 8Musk reportedly ordered Starlink slowdown that hurt ...staradvertiser.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine.True
- Donald Trump called Elon Musk and told him to restore full access to the Starshield system.Mixed
- Donald Trump stated he spoke with Elon Musk and that Musk told him Starlink service had been restored in Ukraine.Mixed
- Donald Trump stated that Starlink access has been restored in Ukraine.True
- Elon Musk throttled Ukraine's use of Starlink and Starshield following Russia's invasion.Mixed