Multiple sources have confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the world’s wealthiest person and the most important ally to the United States in the space race, Elon Musk, has maintained regular communications with the leader of the Russian government, Vladimir Putin, since 2022.
In a report published on Thursday, the American news outlet cited sources familiar with the matter from Europe, the US, and Russia who confirmed that they had undisclosed contacts on multiple occasions during this period.
The subjects of their conversations included personal matters, geopolitics, business, and even matters associated with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
One of the most notable talking points reported by these sources was a request from Putin to avoid the activation of Starlink services in Taiwan as a favor to the President of China, Xi Jinping.
National security experts argue that these conversations could pose a risk to American interests, especially as Musk has clearance to access certain confidential information from the US government. And that doesn’t even consider the power and influence he wields with his net worth and companies.
SpaceX, a company he owns and leads, maintains contracts worth around $1.8 billion with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Pentagon while its rockets help fuel many of the former agency’s missions.
“They don’t love it,” one source familiar with the situation described the US government’s view about these contacts. However, the current administration has not raised any formal security alerts.
Musk recently downplayed the importance of his ability to access top-secret information from the federal government during a Trump campaign event in Pennsylvania.
“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,” the head of Tesla (TSLA) stated.
The Pentagon has maintained silence on the matter as they declined to comment on individual security clearance matters or personnel security policy in relation to the reports.
Musk’s Actions Point to Shifting Allegiances in Ukraine-Russia Conflict
Musk seems to have shifted his allegiances when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict multiple times. In February 2022, he showed his support for the Ukranian cause and donated hundreds of Starlink terminals to the government to help them stay connected to the internet.
Just four months later, reports indicated that more than 15,000 terminals were active in the country and helped maintain a vital communications infrastructure for the population.
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However, Musk started to limit at some point the military’s ability to use Starlink terminals to organize offensive operations after citing concerns that this could result in a severe escalation in the conflict. We simply don’t know if he did this for Putin or not.
He also publicly opposed the US’ decision to support Ukraine by sending weapons, financial aid, and equipment while reports started to emerge that Russia had been acquiring Starlink terminals through third-party countries to build their army’s communications infrastructure in the area as well.
As Musk’s views evolved, rumors started to spread about his regular conversations with high-level Russian officials while he also started citing the huge financial losses caused by Starlink’s support to Ukraine.
Political Implications and the Trump Factor
The timing of these revelations carries particular weight given the current political landscape and the upcoming US presidential election. Musk has positioned himself as a crucial supporter of Donald Trump’s election campaign and has already donated over $120 million to support the former president’s race to secure a second term.
Trump, in turn, has indicated that he will appoint Musk as the head of a “government efficiency commission” if he gets to the Oval Office. Pundits and political experts immediately started ringing the alarm, warning that Musk has a colossal conflict of interest. For one, it seems like he’s being rewarded with the position for his $120 million in donations. Secondly, if he can decide where government funding goes, he could route it into his own pockets through SpaceX, Tesla, or another company.
Finally, this government position could be worth literally tens of billions of dollars to Musk because of a little-known provision that allows top government officials to indefinitely defer capital gains taxes.
The Trump campaign has embraced Musk’s involvement and a spokeswoman described him as “a once-in-a-generation industry leader” whose ideas could benefit what they believe is currently a “broken federal bureaucracy.”
The possibility that Musk’s relationship with Putin could influence the future of US-Russia relations has not gone unnoticed. If Trump secures a victory, Musk’s dialogues with Putin could open up the door to renewed interactions with the Russian leader. This could help Trump’s expressed desire to negotiate new arrangements with the European superpower and act as a mediator to reduce geopolitical tensions in the region.
This prospect has raised concerns among current administration officials, particularly amid Putin’s status as one of America’s greatest adversaries.
The Expanding Sphere of Influence
The Wall Street Journal’s investigation has revealed the extent of Musk’s influence beyond direct communications with Putin. His social media platform X (formerly Twitter) hosted Tucker Carlson’s controversial two-hour interview with Putin, during which the Russian leader praised Musk’s intelligence and suggested that people who deal with him need to find “common ground” with Musk to persuade him.
The US Justice Department has identified Russian disinformation campaigns operating on X, including approximately 30 internet domains created by Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.
These websites were specifically designed to erode the public’s support for Ukraine and manipulate American voters ahead of the presidential election.
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The implications of these ongoing talks extend into the business realm, as SpaceX has a crucial role in US space operations while Starlink’s strategic importance as a tough-to-censor internet service provider keeps growing in multiple regions of the world.
Musk has maintained that no terminals were sold directly or indirectly to Russia. However, controlling who uses Starlink in Ukraine has been challenging for the company, according to people familiar with the caveats of the situation.
The Kremlin’s official position, voiced through its spokesman Dmitry Peskov, is that Putin has had only one conversation with Musk – a phone call where they discussed “space as well as current and future technologies.”
However, this statement contrasts sharply with the evidence presented by multiple sources that indicate an ongoing dialogue between Musk and Russian officials.
As the US presidential election approaches and the global geopolitical landscape continues to evolve, the relationship between Musk and Putin will probably go through intense scrutiny amid the implications that close ties between the two could have for US national security and military interests.