Elon Musk joins Trump's call with Zelenskyy amid White House role buzz: Report

Elon Musk was with Trump during the 25-minute call with Zelenskyy. During the conversation, Zelenskyy congratulated Trump for his decisive victory in the US presidential elections this week. 

In Short

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Trump on his win in US elections
• Trump promised Zelenskyy that he will continue to support Ukraine
• Elon Musk assured Starlink service for Ukraine

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and self-proclaimed dark-gothic MAGA (Make America Great Again), reportedly joined the call between US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, signalling the growing influence of the Tesla CEO in the second Trump administration.

Musk was with Trump during the 25-minute call with Zelenskyy, two sources with knowledge of the call told Axios. During the conversation, Zelenskyy congratulated Trump for his decisive victory in the US presidential elections this week.

The president-elect assured Zelenskyy of his support for Ukraine but did not specify his approach, Axios reported.

After talking with Trump came Musk, who reportedly told Zelenskyy that he would continue to provide a Starlink satellite internet connection to Ukraine.

According to Axios, the call with Trump didn't leave Zelenskyy with a "feeling of despair."

In an official statement, Zelenskyy said that he praised Trump and his team for their tremendous campaign.

"We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace," he said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US election. Putin said that he was ready to speak with Trump, emphasising the need to restore US-Russia relations and work toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Elon Musk’s stance on supporting Ukraine at times has been inconsistent. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography, Musk refused a request from Ukraine to activate satellites over Crimea, saying that doing so would make SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, “complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” The Guardian reported.

Earlier in 2022, Musk also posted a proposed peace plan on social media that experts criticised as pro-Kremlin.

In response, Zelenskyy ran a poll on X, asking followers which Musk they preferred: one who supports Ukraine or Russia. Unsurprisingly, the former option has secured the majority of votes.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk has been in contact with Vladimir Putin since 2022. It’s unclear what they discussed, but Starlink was reportedly mentioned, and Putin asked Musk to avoid activating it over Taiwan, reportedly as a favour to China’s Xi Jinping.

Musk later responded to the report on X, writing, “Welp, the Swamp’s ‘Trump is Hitler’ didn’t work. Might as well give ‘Elon is a Russian agent’ a whirl.”