| How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.  Photo illustration by Matt Chase; Source photographs from Getty; Shutterstock The meddling of oligarchs in the fate of nations is not new. But Elon Musk’s current influence on global affairs is especially “brazen and expansive.” As Ronan Farrow explains in a deeply reported story from this week’s issue, Musk’s SpaceX is currently the sole means by which NASA transports crew from U.S. soil into space. The government’s plan to move the auto industry toward electric cars requires increasing access to charging stations, many of which are owned by another Musk enterprise, Tesla. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has relied on Musk’s Starlink mobile Internet terminals for communications in its fight against Russia. “We are living off his good graces,” a Pentagon official said, of Musk’s role in the war. “That sucks.” We asked Farrow what his biggest misapprehension about Musk had been before he began reporting the story. “As someone who had followed news about Elon Musk fairly casually, I don’t think I’d registered just how exposed he is,” Farrow said. “There is little truly new to observe about one of the world’s most observed people. But I also hadn’t—and I think most people haven’t—reckoned with just how pervasive and consequential his influence is. I didn’t know that Musk is not just advancing technology but shaping the outcome of wars and policy debates.” Farrow added that it is easy to become distracted by the flurry of strange news and controversies that Musk invites and incites. “For all the arresting details about him, say, using ketamine and speaking with the Kremlin, I was in the end less transfixed by Musk and more by what his influence shows us about the systems around him,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn here about the consequences of extreme capitalism and the way in which declining state investment in important areas of progress has empowered private entities to fill new spaces—with consequences both positive and dangerous.” As for one additional takeaway, Farrow noted, “It must be said: the man has sophisticated taste in video games.” Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | 
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