A series of internal government messages reveal how US embassies and the State Department have pushed governments to clear regulatory barriers for Elon Musk’s Starlink.

In the messages obtained by The Washington Post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directs US officials to push for permit approvals for the satellite internet service. Governments facing chaotic tariff threats have got the message and are rolling out the red carpet for Musk in the hope of avoiding costly tariffs.

This scandal has drawn widespread attention and condemnation, with dozens of members of Congress and senators calling for investigations into Musk and the government agencies that may have pressured countries on his behalf.

While this corruption is shocking, it’s hardly surprising. Before the “liberation day” tariff announcement, Public Citizen issued a report documenting how the tariff process in President Donald Trump’s first term enabled a quid-pro-quo spoils system that rewarded the rich and well-connected. We warned that Musk’s powerful and ill-defined role in the US government could lead other countries to decide that giving special privileges to Musk’s companies would help them earn brownie points with the Trump administration.

Elon Musk has pushing for Starlink expansion across the world for years, but some countries have been wary of permitting the service to enter their markets. Experts have raised concerns about threats to “data sovereignty”, a group or individual’s right to control and maintain their own data. To the extent that communications on the Starlink network are routed through the US, they may be accessible to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

And it is not unreasonable for countries to consider that access to Starlink services could be weaponised and a nation’s internet access held hostage at the whim of a single man or wayward administration. Alarmingly, claims abound that the US threatened to withdraw Ukrainian access to Starlink if the country did not sign the US-Ukraine minerals agreement (though this has been denied by Musk).

But now, Musk’s proximity to the White House and Trump’s innermost circle has provided him with powerful new leverage to push his businesses on foreign governments: The threat of Trump’s chaotic tariffs. For some countries weighing the pros and cons, the chance that approval for Starlink helps stave off tariffs has changed the equation.

The Washington Post exposé highlighted several diplomatic cables from various embassies commenting on........

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