By Lionel Laurent*

Elon Musk’s meteoric rise to the top of US politics as the “czar of efficiency” is causing quite a bit of anxiety in Europe, and not just because of his abusive social media outbursts against Brussels’ regulatory rules. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the Elon Musk-Donald Trump duo extremely troubling, taking a dig specifically at Musk’s dominance of the space industry. The anxiety is justified – but simply leaving spikes is not enough.

The 210 billion company dollar, SpaceX, Musk is especially strong, even more so than his tweets. Its reusable rockets have effectively monopolized a commercial launch market once dominated by Europe. Starlink’s 6,000 satellites that deliver high-speed internet from anywhere have changed the course of war in Ukraine’s powerful drone-powered battlefield. Officials panic the billionaire’s conflicts of interest will exacerbate a dangerous dependency: At a panel in Paris last week, top German antitrust official Andreas Mundt cited Musk’s influence on Starlink and urged tech regulators to be bold , saying it is “unacceptable” for a man to practice state powers.

However, Musk’s space successes have also been aided by European failures in adaptability and competition. SpaceX’s competitors have gaps: Europe does not have its own reusable rocket, having not supported this technology a decade ago. Legacy businesses like satellite TV are suffering in the age of streaming like Netflix, while markets like shipping and airline Wi-Fi are being lured by Starlink’s more affordable and easy-to-install kit. The disruptive impact of falling prices continues, even amid a wave of mergers for massive growth: Luxembourg-based Intelsat, which is being acquired by SES SA, posted a 9.4% drop in third-quarter revenue, down 13 .7% in – revenue from flight services. Shares in Paris-based Eutelsat Communications SACA, which merged with the UK’s OneWeb, have fallen to a 19-year low.

As Europe grapples with how to catch up, Starlink is adding new wins to its 4 million subscriber base. Air France-KLM – part-owned by the French government – in September announced a deal with Starlink to offer high-speed Wi-Fi on its flights from next summer. In the same month, Starlink announced an agreement with top US customer United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Novaspace CEO Nathan de Ruiter says Starlink is able to improve and iterate on its product as it launches more satellites.

While being good at building rockets is clearly no reason to allow undue power to accumulate in one person’s hands, Starlink is a formidable product, and the Europeans’ most urgent “battle” should be to promote a viable domestic alternative – especially whereas Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos is the most a la Musk alternative on the horizon. “Complaints” from the likes of Merkel can lead to some kind of awakening process – provided the onus is on innovative technology, not just regulation. More government spending is on the way through the delayed IRIS² project, and new startups are being encouraged to develop their own launchers. On a recent defense industry trip, I saw European surveillance technology based on Starlink combined with a backup system, which will likely continue the push to fund non-Musk alternatives. If a European Starlink ever appears, it could level the playing field.

Hopefully, Trump and Musk’s action will also persuade wary Europeans to emulate another driver of SpaceX’s success: deep, large capital markets capable of funding and scaling ventures. European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said last week that the European Union’s “undeniable” technological backwardness and looming trade tariffs made it imperative to unite capital markets. Perhaps a bigger concern than Musk’s geopolitical power is Europe’s tendency to only act in a crisis — another thing Merkel may know something about.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

*Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who writes about the future of money and the future of Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes.