White House Denies Claims That Musk Is Under Review for National Security Violations

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The White House has denied reports that it is considering placing Elon Musk, Tesla CEO's ongoing business ventures, including the Twitter acquisition, under national security review.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated during a press briefing on the 24th (local time) that although Biden administration officials have reviewed whether some of Musk's ongoing businesses align with national security, "I have heard such reports, but the content of those reports is not true."

When asked about the relationship between the Biden administration and Musk or about Musk's overseas businesses, Jean-Pierre avoided commenting, saying, "I have nothing to say about the choices Musk has decided to make or not to make."

Bloomberg News reported last week that discussions are underway about whether to place Musk's businesses, including the $44 billion (approximately 63 trillion KRW) Twitter acquisition deal and SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink, under national security review.

The news agency cited an anonymous U.S. government official saying, "If Musk's businesses are placed under national security review, the U.S. government is considering what measures it can take."

It also noted that the Twitter acquisition involves foreign capital from Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, China's cryptocurrency company Binance Holdings, and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which could trigger a review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Musk, who has repeatedly engaged in irresponsible remarks and been embroiled in various controversies through Twitter, has recently expressed views on geopolitical conflicts such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's threats to Taiwan that have unsettled the U.S. government, making him a headache for U.S. political circles, according to major foreign media including The Washington Post (WP).

In particular, the White House condemned Musk's statements about attempting to stop free Starlink service support to Ukraine and remarks seemingly defending Russian President Vladimir Putin as "strong and reckless remarks." A White House official criticized, "Musk believes he does not need guardrails (restrictions on speech or actions) and considers himself a gift to humanity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.