On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had some kind words for Elon Musk, praising his technological prowess while conceding that Moscow is still in the early innings of building a satellite internet network to rival Space Exploration Technologies Corp's SpaceX (SPCX) Starlink.
Putin made the remarks while listening to Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev discuss Russia's satellite deployment efforts during a meeting in Moscow attended by African leaders, Reuters reported.
Shadayev said Russia had launched more than 30 satellites as it works to establish its own low-Earth-orbit communications network.
"I want to point out this is just our first step. Elon Musk is a genius, he's just a real genius," Putin said.
Shadayev told Putin that Musk's Starlink network had more than 5,000 operational low-Earth-orbit satellites, though independent tracking site Orbital Radar puts the figure closer to 10,000.
Putin acknowledged Russia's early progress, saying, "We are proud that we have begun to do this and started to do it independently," while stressing the need to scale up deployments.
He also said Moscow maintained contact with American partners, including Musk, to prevent satellite interference and preserve order in orbit.
Starlink's Role In Ukraine War Raises Stakes
Ukraine has relied extensively on Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations during its war with Russia.
The network's military significance came into focus earlier this month when Ukraine reported speed restrictions that hampered its ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.
Musk later acknowledged that SpaceX had restricted Starlink speeds, while maintaining that Ukraine had violated the company's terms of service. The U.S. government has not accepted responsibility for imposing the restrictions. Ukraine later said Starlink and SpaceX's military-focused Starshield system were fully operational again.
Putin's latest remarks follow earlier expressions of Russian interest in working with Musk. In 2025, Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev said Moscow would welcome cooperation with the billionaire on a mission to Mars.
In 2024, Musk also accepted a challenge from the Russian space agency's then-chief Yuri Borisov, who said that Roscosmos' Amur-CNG rocket could be reused 50 to 100 times, far exceeding the Falcon 9's record of 20 reuses.
Price Action: SpaceX closed at $145.23 on Wednesday. Shares fell 1.27% to $143.38 in Thursday's premarket trading, according to market data.
According to market data, SpaceX has negative price trends across the short, medium and long term.
