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The #ElonMusk #Putin discussions, #confirmed by several current & fmr #US, European & Russian ofcls, touch on personal topics, business & geopolitical tensions.

At one point, Putin asked the #billionaire to avoid activating his #Starlink satellite internet service over #Taiwan as a favor to #China’s leader #Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request.

#Musk has emerged this year as a crucial supporter of #Trump’s #election campaign, & could find a role in a Trump admin should he win. While the #US & its allies…engagement w/ #Russia’s leader,…reinforce Trump’s expressed desire to cut a deal over major fault lines such as the #war in #Ukraine.

At the same time, the contacts also raise… #NationalSecurity concerns among some in the current admin, given Putin’s role as one of #America’s chief adversaries.

#ElonMusk has forged deep business ties w/ #US #military & #intelligence agencies, giving him unique visibility into some of America’s most sensitive #space programs. #SpaceX, which operates the #Starlink service, won a $1.8B #classified contract in 2021 & is the primary rocket launcher for the #Pentagon & #NASA. #Musk has a #SecurityClearance that allows him access to certain classified information.

Knowledge of #ElonMusk’s Kremlin contacts appears to be a closely held #secret in govt. Several WH ofcls *said* they weren’t aware of them. The topic is highly sensitive, given #Musk’s increasing involvement in the #Trump campaign & the… #US presidential #election, 12 days away.

#Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment. The #billionaire has called criticism…that he has become an apologist for #Putin “absurd” & has said his companies “have done more to undermine #Russia than anything.”

During his campaign swing through PA last wk, #Musk talked about the importance of govt transparency & noted his own access to govt secrets. “I do have a #TopSecretClearance, but…the reason they keep it top secret is because it’s so boring.”

A #Pentagon spox said: “We do not comment on any individual’s security clearance, review or status, or about personnel security policy matters in the context of reports about any individual’s actions.”

One person aware of the conversations said the govt faces a dilemma because it is so dependent on the #billionaire’s #tech. #SpaceX launches vital #NationalSecurity satellites into orbit & is the company #NASA relies on to transport astronauts to & from the International #Space Station.

“They don’t love it,” the person said, referring to the #ElonMusk #Putin contacts. The person, however, *said* no alerts have been raised by the admin over possible #security breaches by #Musk.

Kremlin Spox Dmitry Peskov said the only communication the Kremlin has had w/ #ElonMusk was over one telephone call in which he & #Putin discussed “#space as well as current & future technologies.”

Apart from that, Peskov said neither Putin nor Kremlin ofcls were holding regular conversations w/ #Musk.

A spox for #Trump’s campaign called Musk “a once-in-a-generation industry leader” & said “our broken federal bureaucracy could certainly benefit from his ideas & efficiency.”

“As for #Putin,” the #Trump spox continued, “there’s only one candidate in the race that he did not invade another country under, & it’s *President* Trump. *President* Trump has long said that he will re-establish his peace through strength foreign policy to deter #Russia’s aggression & end the war in #Ukraine.”

…#Musk’s conversations w/ #Putin & Kremlin ofcls highlight his increasing inclination to stretch beyond business & into #geopolitics. He has met several times & talked business w/Javier #Milei of #Argentina, as well as Brazil’s fmr President Jair #Bolsonaro, whom he defended in an acrimonious online debate.

Putin is on a different order of magnitude. #Russia’s leader has created an #authoritarian system that oversees fraudulent elections & the assassinations of political opponents….

In Oct 2022, #Musk said publicly that he had spoken only once to #Putin. He said on #X that the conversation was about space, & that it occurred around April 2021.

But more conversations have followed, including dialogues w/other high-ranking Russian ofcls past 2022 & into this year. One of the ofcls was #SergeiKiriyenko, Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, 2 of the ofcls said. What the 2 talked about isn’t clear.

Last month, the #DOJ said in an affidavit that #Kiriyenko had created some 30 internet domains to spread Russian #disinformation, including on #Musk’s #X, where it was meant to erode support for #Ukraine & manipulate American voters ahead of the presidential #election.

…One current & one fmr #intelligence source said that Musk & Putin have continued to have contact…into this year as Musk began stepping up his criticism of the #US military aid to #Ukraine & became involved in #Trump’s campaign.

…In the past year, #Musk & #Russia’s interests have increasingly overlapped. Apart from Russia’s use of #X for #disinformation & Musk’s outspoken opposition to aid to #Ukraine, Ukrainian ofcls said earlier this year that Russian forces occupying the country’s eastern & southern swaths had started using #Starlink to enable secure communications and extend the range of their drones. 

Russian troops also began using Starlink terminals, brought in through third countries, at a massive scale….

…Late last year, the Kremlin first made the request of #Musk to not activate #Starlink over Taiwan, said a fmr Russian #intelligence officer briefed on the situation. The request was done as a favor to #China, he said, whom #Russia was increasingly relying on for trade & to get around #sanctions.…

Taiwan is currently listed as “coming soon” on a Starlink map of where it provides service.

…#ElonMusk publicly endorsed #Trump in July. The businessman said he planned to commit as much as $45 million a month to a new #superPAC in part to get it done…. The effort included hiring armies of canvassers to scour battleground states for voters.

Since then, Trump has said he intends to make #Musk the head of a “government efficiency commission.” The two speak often.

@Nonilex
This whole thread confirms billionaires are never to be trusted.