The Kremlin Called Musk a Genius and Nobody Blinked

The phrase "genius" is a great way to deflect from the real story, and Putin knows it. By calling Elon Musk a genius, he's not just throwing a bone to a prominent businessman. He's signaling a relationship that should make everyone's ears perk up. The fact that the president of Russia is in direct contact with a private American citizen who controls the satellite network Ukraine's military depends on to survive is a story that should be met with skepticism and outrage, not a collective shrug.

The headline says Putin thinks Elon Musk is a genius. That's not the story. The story is that the president of Russia just told the world he's in direct contact with a private American citizen who controls the satellite network Ukraine's military depends on to survive. And nobody in a position of oversight flinched.

Don't trust the coffee when the thing being served is flattery from Moscow and the room full of people whose job it is to ask hard questions decides to drink it anyway.