WASHINGTON, DC (Axios) — Elon Musk’s alleged conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin have raised national security questions highlighting the U.S. government’s reliance on SpaceX, the tech billionaire’s astronautics company.
Why it matters: The situation puts the government in the difficult position of choosing to continue its relationship with Musk despite the liability he could pose, or sever ties and lose access to services it relies on.
Driving the news: Musk has been in “regular contact” with Putin since 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
- SpaceX has contracts with the Department of Defense, which relies on the company to get its satellites into orbit.
- SpaceX also has multiple contracts with NASA which relies on the company’s rocket launches to take astronauts into space and bring supplies to the International Space Station.
The big picture: Musk acknowledged while campaigning for former President Trump at a Pennsylvania town hall earlier this month that he has a “top-secret” security clearance, the Journal reported.
- Dan Meyer, a national security attorney, told Axios that Musk’s conversations with Putin would only have violated his security clearance if he failed to properly report them to the government — which remains unclear.
- If his clearance was violated, the federal government’s first step would be to verify if any classified information was leaked, followed by legal proceedings to have Musk defend his security clearance, Meyer said.
- If Musk is in violation, SpaceX — which holds the majority of his companies’ government contracts — might require restructuring to separate Musk from his corporate management role or risk losing the contracts, Meyer said.
