A new report that billionaire Elon Musk held secret conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin could raise security concerns due to his top-secret clearance and the use of Starlink satellites in other countries.
What Happened: Among the conversations Musk had with Putin in recent years include asking for Starlink to be restricted over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, a new report alleges. The report adds to the accusations of Musk being a Putin apologist, which he has denied.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk has been in contact with Putin since 2022, and topics such as business and geopolitical concerns have been discussed.
Discussions of how to handle Starlink by Putin are drawing concern from the people who spoke to The Journal, given Musk’s extra clearance thanks to government contracts.
SpaceX has deals in place with the Pentagon and NASA that give Musk top-secret security clearance over certain matters, including the U.S. space program.
“I do have a top-secret clearance, but, I’d have to say, like most of the stuff that I’m aware of… the reason they keep it top secret is because it’s so boring,” Musk said in a recent speech in Pennsylvania while campaigning for Donald Trump, the report said.
A person told WSJ that the government’s dependence on SpaceX and technology controlled by Musk could create a dilemma.
SpaceX currently launches national security satellites into orbit and is contracted by NASA to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
The Pentagon declined to disclose the level of Musk’s security clearance.
“We do not comment on any individual’s security clearance, review or status, or about personnel security policy matters in the context of reports about any individual’s actions,” a Pentagon spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.
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Why It’s Important: The latest WSJ report is the most recent to suggest Musk has been in contact with Putin, though both the billionaire and Russian officials frequently deny these claims.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Musk and Putin have only discussed space and “current and future technologies.”
Musk admitted to speaking to Putin in April 2021, talking to the Russian leader about space, but has denied communications since then.
The billionaire helped support Ukraine with Starlink terminals to use after the country was attacked by Russia. Ukraine later accused Musk of turning off Starlink technology near the Crimea region. Musk later said he did so as he believed an attack by Ukraine on the Crimea region occupied by Russia could lead to a nuclear war.
Putin has spoken positively about Musk in recent years, calling the billionaire “a smart person” during an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on Musk-owned social media platform X.
“There’s no stopping Elon Musk, he’s going to do what he thinks he needs to do,” Putin said. “You need to find some common ground with him, you need to search for some ways to persuade him.”
Musk has said he has no business interests in Russia, with SpaceX and Tesla not involved in the country.
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