When Ukrainian submarine drones loaded with explosives approached Russian vessels, they "lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly," Walter Isaacson wrote in the book titled "Elon Musk."
The businessman feared that Moscow would respond to a "mini-Pearl Harbor" by deploying nuclear weapons, according to the book. His fear was driven by his conversations with senior Russian officials.
Musk also had calls with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov to address anxieties from Washington to Moscow, the book said.
Neither Musk nor SpaceX replied to requests for comment, the broadcaster said.
"Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes," the entrepreneur told Isaacson, who has also penned biographies of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.
Musk also told Isaacson that he would not turn the satellite network back on for Crimea because Ukraine "is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat," according to the book.