Author: Kelechi Edeh
Elon Musk, the multibillionaire and Tesla CEO, may not be on good terms with the US government. When asked in a press conference whether Musk posed a threat to national security, President Joe Biden responded that it might be worth investigating the CEO’s relationships with other countries.
While Musk may not be a fan of the Democrats or President Biden, this suspicion seems to stem from the CEO’s recent joint acquisition of Twitter by foreign governments, including the Saudis.
Elon Musk Questionable Relationship With Foreign Government
On Wednesday, a reporter specifically asked President Biden whether he believes Elon Musk represents a threat to the country and whether he would consider using the resources at his disposal to look into the CEO’s joint acquisition of Twitter with a foreign government.
In response, Biden said he believed further investigation should be done into Musk’s business and technical ties to other countries. However, he did add that he is not implying that the billionaire is in any shady deals, but it might be worth investigating.
The president’s statement comes after Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal emerged as the second-largest investor in Musk’s Twitter acquisition.
Senators Want to Look into the Twitter Deal
Two US senators, Ron Wyden and Chris Murphy demanded that the Twitter deal be thoroughly investigated last week. According to a statement by Wyden, “it’s important that they’re not granted access to user’s private account information and other data which can be used to identify political opponents, given the Saudi’s history of targeting critics, brutally killing a Washington Post journalist, and planting spies at Twitter.”
The deal with the Saudis is an excellent example of what the United States is trying to avoid, he continued, and it is in the country’s national security interest to protect American citizens’ data from foreign governments.
The White House also denied last month’s reports that the country was preparing to start a national security investigation into some of Elon Musk’s businesses, including Twitter. Government officials are concerned that these foreign investors may pressure Musk to restrict free speech online.
Tesla and China Relationship
Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that produced more than half of the company’s vehicles for export last year, making China one of its key markets and production hubs. Musk is the CEO of both Space X, a rocket and Satelite internet company, as well as Tesla.
Musk has also said that handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing could help ease some of the tension between China and Taiwan. He further stated that he promised China he would not promote Space X’s services there.
The Bottom Line
In a press conference on Wednesday, President Biden stated that he believes it is worthwhile to investigate Elon Musk’s relationships with foreign countries. This statement comes after he was asked if the billionaire posed a national security threat. He said that he isn’t saying Musk is doing shady deals with these foreign investors, but it’s worth looking into. Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter on October 27 with the help of top investors from countries such as Saudi Arabia.
