Remove Elon Musk Now: Alleged Talks with Putin Raise Security Concerns

The Wall Street Journal published a shocking report on Friday, 25th October, claiming that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been speaking regularly with Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2022. Musk’s ties to Russia previously gave cause for concern, but the WSJ’s allegations need to be seriously examined and, if confirmed, must be grounds for removing Musk from SpaceX on an operational basis, if not totally. In the mean time, it’s prudent to ensure that he has no further connection with his company while the investigation is ongoing. This may sound draconian, but the U.S. government has taken similar steps in the space industry in the past; the precedent has been set and needs to be applied again.

Musk’s prior Russia connections

Russian investment into Twitter as early as 2011 was made known by The Guardian in 2017. However, in August 2024, Russian financial backing of Musk’s purchase of the company that became X was uncovered.

Previously, Musk’s interference with the Starlink signals the Ukrainian military needed to take the war to the Russians in Crimea in 2022 had raised concerns. Spats between Musk and those providing Starlink services for Ukraine’s army regarding billing in late 2022 also didn’t help. Ukrainian observers wondered who in the FSB was handling the Musk file. Even though the Kremlin has denied that there have been regular communications with Musk, it seems that the case was handled at the presidential level itself.

National security threat

American officials are recognizing that a serious security concern has arisen. SpaceX is the primary launch company for NASA and The Pentagon, and Musk does have a security clearance. The WSJ quoted NASA Administrator Bill Nelson about the matter:

If the story is true that there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the president of Russia then I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.

In 2021-2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment had demanded that the Ukrainian entrepreneur Max Polyakov remove himself from Firefly Aerospace. The claim, according to author Ashlee Vance, was that Polyakov was a security risk due to this being from Ukraine. It took two years for Polyakov to clear his name and have the right to invest in the U.S. aerospace industry reinstated. And now, someone who allegedly talks with Putin has a security clearance while launching for the Defense Department. Swift action needs to be taken to confirm and neutralize this threat.