I’m confused. Doesn’t that mean if the earth side part of the elevator is fixed the satellite would have to be in a geosynchronous orbit? If the earth side part is not fixed wouldn’t it drag on every high feature in its path?
Yes to both. The space terminus would be in geosynchronous orbit.
The tether could be attached to the ground and an end station attached on the far end beyond geosynchronous altitude.
It would drag. If you have a strong enough material, this shouldn’t be a problem. However, we don’t have a strong enough material yet.