The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chief, Bill Nelson, has demanded to investigate the alleged frequent conversations between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
On Friday, October 25, Nelson called to seek an investigation into a report by Wall Street Journal that alleged “regular contact” between Musk and Putin since late 2022, reported CNN.
As per the report, the Tesla CEO has talked about “personal topics, business, and geopolitical tensions” with the Russian leader, which resulted in increased security concerns for the United States.
Due to Musk’s close relationships with NASA and the U.S. military, he may have access to sensitive government information, national secrets, and U.S. intelligence.
In a conversation with Semafor’s Burgess Everett, NASA chief stated, “I don’t know that that story is true. I think it should be investigated.”
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to another official, last year some U.S. officials showed speculations and counterintelligence concerns about Elon Musk’s interactions with U.S. adversaries like Russia, however, the authorities did not pay much attention to it due to Musk being an American national.
Furthermore, the report also alleged that Putin had requested Musk to not activate his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan, a favor done to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
