Now that Mr. Musk is done with his misadventures in Washington, DC, everyone was hoping he would start to focus more on SpaceX and the Starship tests that are critical to NASA’s Artemis mission. That may be too reasonable.
First, we see that Mr. Musk is getting involved in British politics again. That has never been a good thing for the Brits or his ignored companies. I agree with the UK’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband when he states,
We have a message for Elon Musk. Get the hell out of our politics and our country.
And now we read that the Russians are interested in a rail tunnel between Alaska and Russia, with Musk’s Boring Company taking the lead. President Trump said he is considering it.
It sounds like a ruse to me. President Putin is ten times smarter than Mr. Musk when it comes to foreign affairs, so it is likely this is something he can dangle in front of Musk to distract him and maybe even bring him over to his side on the Ukranian issue where Starlink is still a critical resource. President Putin’s Chinese friends will also be very happy for the distraction if it delays U.S. ambitions related to the Moon.
None of this makes a lot of sense. Russia’s main export is energy, which is more economical by ship (and Alaska is not looking for any competition with its oil industry). Plus, the Russian side of the tunnel is underdeveloped and not ready for the inflows the tunnel would bring. Besides, I thought we were trying to restrict Russian trade.
It all sounds like a pipe dream (or tunnel dream) with no real purpose other than to play the trade card for Trump while making Musk feel like an important piece of the puzzle.
Both President Trump and Mr. Musk have trouble focusing unless they see themselves personally benefiting, and the Russians know this.
NASA needs to drum up a Moon tunnel real quick for Mr. Musk’s company if it wants to regain his attention.
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