According to The Wall Street Journal, the world's richest person and key figure in the American space industry, Elon Musk, has been in regular contact with Russian President Putin since the end of 2022.
These discussions have been confirmed by several current and former American, European, and Russian officials, with reports indicating that their conversations involve personal topics, business, and geopolitical tensions.
Musk has become an important supporter of Trump's re-election campaign this year, and if he wins, he may serve in the Trump administration. While the US and its allies have isolated Putin in recent years, Musk's dialogue may signal a re-engagement with the Russian leader and strengthen Trump's desire to reach agreements on major issues such as ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
At the same time, given that Putin is one of America's main adversaries, these contacts have also raised potential concerns about national security within the current government.
Musk has established strong business ties with the US military and intelligence agencies, giving him a unique insight into some of America's most sensitive space programs. SpaceX, the company operating the &#34;Starlink&#34; service, won a confidential $1.8 billion contract in 2021 related to major rocket launchers for the Pentagon and NASA. Musk holds security clearance that allows him access to certain classified information.
Musk's connections with the Kremlin appear to be a closely guarded secret within the government. Several White House officials said they were unaware of these matters. Given Musk's increasing involvement in Trump's re-election campaign and the upcoming US presidential election in less than two weeks, this topic is very sensitive.
Musk did not respond to requests for comment. The billionaire has criticized those who accuse him of being a defender of Putin as &#34;absurd,&#34; stating that his company &#34;does more to undermine Russia than anything else.&#34;
During a campaign event in Pennsylvania last week, Musk talked about the importance of government transparency and noted that he himself has access to government secrets. &#34;I do have top secret clearance, but, I have to say, like most things I know... they keep it secret because it's boring,&#34; he said.
A Pentagon spokesperson stated, &#34;We do not comment on individual security clearances, reviews, or identities, nor do we comment on personnel security policy issues in reporting on individual behavior.&#34;
A person familiar with these discussions stated that the government is in a dilemma as it heavily relies on Musk's technology. SpaceX launches important national security satellites into orbit and also assists NASA in transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
&#34;They don't like it,&#34; the source said, referring to Musk's contact with Putin. However, the source also mentioned that the government has not issued any warnings about potential security vulnerabilities that Musk may bring.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the only communication between the Kremlin and Musk was in a phone call where they discussed &#34;space and current and future technologies.&#34;
In addition, he said that neither Putin nor Kremlin officials have regular conversations with Musk.
A female spokesperson for the Trump campaign team called Musk a &#34;once-in-a-lifetime industry leader&#34; and said, &#34;Our fragmented federal bureaucracy can certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency.&#34;
&#34;As for Putin,&#34; the spokesperson continued, &#34;President Trump has long stated that he will end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rebuild peace through a strong foreign policy.&#34;
<h2>A Story that Began with a Bottle of Vodka</h2>
For a long time, Musk has been fascinated by Russia and its space and rocket projects. According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk, the businessman went to Moscow in 2002 to negotiate the purchase of rockets for his nascent space program, but passed out drunk after drinking a lot of vodka at lunch. The deal ultimately fell through, but the Russians who hosted him gave Musk a bottle of vodka with his portrait and a drawing of Mars on it.
The conversations between the billionaire and Putin and Kremlin officials highlight his increasing tendency to expand from the business field to the geopolitical field. He has met and done business with Argentine President Javier Milei and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, defending the latter in a heated online debate.
Putin is on a completely different level. The Russian leader has been called a &#34;killer&#34; by Biden. Putin possesses one of the world's most powerful nuclear arsenals, has growing territorial ambitions in Europe, and has become a major adversary of the United States, being blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department after the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out.
In October 2022, Musk publicly stated that he had only spoken to Putin once. He said on X that the conversation was about space and took place around April 2021.
However, more conversations followed, including with other senior Russian officials after 2022 and this year. One official reportedly was Putin's first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko. It is unclear what they discussed.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice stated in a sworn affidavit that Kiriyenko had created about 30 internet domains to spread false information about Russia, including on Musk's X, aiming to undermine support for Ukraine and manipulate American voters before the presidential election.
After the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022, Musk initially made a strong public statement in support of Kyiv. He posted &#34;Hold Strong Ukraine&#34; on X, still referred to as Twitter at the time, with the Ukrainian flag on both sides. Shortly after, he jokingly challenged Putin to a one-on-one battle in &#34;Україна&#34; (Ukraine)
Later, he donated hundreds of Starlink terminals to Ukraine. By July, about 15,000 terminals were providing free internet access to vast areas destroyed by Russian attacks.
However, later that year, Musk's views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict seemed to have changed. In September, Ukrainian military personnel were unable to use Starlink terminals to guide drone attacks on Russia's naval base in Crimea. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukraine tried to persuade Musk to launch Starlink services in the region, but it did not happen.
His aerospace company expanded restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starlink in offensive operations. Musk later stated that he did so because Starlink is for civilian use, and he believed that any Ukrainian attack on Crimea could trigger a nuclear war.
His actions coincided with pressure from the Kremlin, both publicly and privately. In May 2022, the head of the Russian space agency posted on Telegram that Musk would &#34;answer like an adult&#34; to the question of providing Starlink services to Ukraine's Azov Battalion. The Azov Battalion is a far-right Ukrainian military organization.
According to a source, later in 2022, Musk had regular conversations with &#34;senior Russian officials.&#34; The source said that at that time, the Kremlin exerted pressure on Musk's business and &#34;implicitly threatened him.&#34;
Meanwhile, Musk increasingly stated on Twitter, which he was in the process of acquiring, that SpaceX was losing money by operating these terminals.
In October 2022, he asked his tens of millions of followers on X to vote on a path to peace, reflecting certain conditions that the Kremlin had proposed to Ukraine at the time.
These conditions included Russia continuing to occupy Crimea and Ukraine remaining neutral outside of NATO. He also noted that Ukraine should continue to allow water supply to Crimea, an issue that had been a key concern for the Kremlin before the conflict.
A current and a former intelligence official stated that as Musk began to strengthen US military aid to Ukraine and engage in Trump's election campaign, Musk and Putin have been in contact since then until this year.
<h2>Increasingly Overlapping Interests</h2>
In the fall of 2022, Ian Bremmer, founder of the New York-based consulting firm Eurasia Group and a political scientist, wrote on Twitter at the time that Musk had told him he had discussed the Ukraine issue with Putin and Kremlin officials. &#34;He also told me what the Kremlin's red lines are,&#34; he wrote.
Bremmer wrote in a newsletter to subscribers that Musk conveyed to him Putin's message that Russia would &#34;ensure Crimea and Ukraine's neutrality at all costs&#34; and would respond to Ukraine's invasion of Crimea with nuclear strikes. Musk said, &#34;Every effort must be made to avoid this outcome,&#34; Bremmer wrote
However, Musk publicly denied saying these things to Bremer.
Over the past year, Musk's interests have increasingly overlapped with Russia's. In addition to Russia using X to provide false information and Musk bluntly opposing aid to Ukraine, Ukrainian officials earlier this year stated that Russian troops occupying the eastern and southern regions of the country have begun using &#34;Starlink&#34; for secure communication and expanding the range of their drones.
Russian troops have also begun extensively using &#34;Starlink&#34; terminals introduced through third countries, undermining one of Ukraine's few battlefield advantages. Musk stated on X that to his knowledge, no terminals were sold directly or indirectly to Russia, and these terminals cannot be used within Russia.
Pentagon officials stated that the military is working with Ukraine and &#34;Starlink&#34; to address this issue, and described SpaceX as a good partner in these efforts. Sources say it is difficult to control who is using &#34;Starlink&#34; in Ukraine.
&#34;Starlink&#34; stated on X that when SpaceX learns of unauthorized parties using the service, they will investigate and may cut off access.
Earlier this year, X aired Tucker Carlson's two-hour interview with Russian leaders in the Kremlin, during which Musk expressed his views on the United States and Ukraine to Putin. In that interview, Putin said he believed Musk &#34;is a smart person.&#34;
Putin said, &#34;Nothing can stop Musk, he will do what he thinks needs to be done... You need to find some common ground with him, you need to find ways to persuade him.&#34;
Over time, Musk has become increasingly focused on the U.S. presidential election.
Musk stated that in the first few months of this year, he would avoid supporting any presidential candidate while privately discussing how to get Trump elected. It wasn't until July of this year that Musk began openly supporting him. According to sources, the businessman said he plans to invest up to $45 million per month in a new super PAC, in part to accomplish this task. This effort includes hiring a large army of canvassers in battleground states to gather votes.
Since then, Trump has consistently stated his intention to make Musk the head of the &#34;Government Efficiency Committee.&#34; The two men frequently converse

PHUN

According to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Putin since the end of 2022, discussing personal, business, and geopolitical issues. These contacts have raised concerns about national security, especially given Musk's support for Trump's election. Musk has deep ties to the US military, holds security clearances, and has access to sensitive information. Although Musk has not responded to this matter, he has previously stated that those criticizing his relationship with Putin are "absurd"

- Elon Musk has maintained regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022, discussing personal, business, and geopolitical issues.  
- These interactions have raised concerns among U.S. officials regarding national security, especially given Musk's significant ties to the U.S. military and intelligence sectors.  
- As Musk supports Trump's campaign, the implications of his dialogues with Putin could signal a potential shift in U.S.-Russia relations amidst ongoing tensions.

US media breaks another big story: Musk and Putin have "secret talks" on a regular basis!