WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of major govt contractor SpaceX and a key ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the last two years, The Wall Street Journal reported. A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed to The Associated Press that Musk and Putin have had contact through calls. The person didn’t provide additional details about the frequency of the calls, when they occurred or their content.
Russia has denied the conversations took place.
Musk, the world’s richest man who also owns Tesla and the social platform X, has emerged as a leading voice on the American right. He’s poured millions of dollars into Trump’s presidential bid and turned X into a site popular with Trump supporters, as well as conspiracy theorists, extremists and Russian propagandists. His contacts with Putin raise national security questions, given his firms work for the govt.
Musk and Putin have spoken repeatedly about personal matters, business and geopolitics, The Journal reported Thursday, citing multiple current and former officials in the US, Europe and Russia. During one talk, Putin asked Musk not to activate his Starlink satellite system over Taiwan as a favor four Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose ties to Putin have grown closer, the Journal reported.