‘Putin and Musk in regular contact since 2022’: Report makes big claim ahead of US election

The WSJ report suggested that the contacts also raise potential national-security concerns, given Putin’s role as one of USA’s chief adversaries.

However, several White House officials told WSJ they weren’t aware of these developments.  Meanwhile, Musk has always rubbished claims that he has become an apologist for Putin. The Tesla CEO has said his companies “have done more to undermine Russia than anything”. Musk has previously faced accusations of selling Starlink terminals to Russia . However, Musk has firmly rejected these reports, calling them "categorically false”.

One person aware of the conversations told WSJ  that the government faces a dilemma because it is so dependent on the billionaire’s technologies. SpaceX launches vital national security satellites into orbit. Also,  NASA relies on it to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

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

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told WSJ the only communication the Kremlin has had with Musk was over one telephone call in which he and Putin discussed “space as well as current and future technologies”.

A spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign called Musk “a once-in-a-generation industry leader”.

“As for Putin, there’s only one candidate in the race that he did not invade another country under, and 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 and end the war in Ukraine,” the spokeswoman told WSJ.

The report suggested that the billionaire’s conversations with Putin and Kremlin officials highlight his increasing inclination to stretch beyond business and into geopolitics.