NASA chief fears Musk likely revealed crucial space info to Putin: Report

NASA chief Bill Nelson fears SpaceX CEO Elon Musk might have given out crucial plans to Russian President Vladimir Putin after reports emerged that he was in “regular contact” with him since late 2022.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Musk discussed “personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions” with the Russian leader. This raises concerns as SpaceX is closely linked with NASA and the US military, which means Musk likely had access to sensitive government information and US intelligence.

Talking to news platform Semafor’s Burgess Everett, Nelson said, "I don’t know that that story is true. I think it should be investigated."

Nelson stressed that in case it is true, then it becomes a matter of grave concern for NASA, the Department of Defense, and for some of the intelligence agencies.

The WSJ report quoted several White House officials as saying that they didn't know about any contact between Musk and Putin. However, as per the paper, the discussions between the two "appear to be a closely held secret in government."

Several current and former US, European and Russian officials confirmed that Musk and Putin had been in contact with each other.

Also Read: Elon Musk in 'regular contact' with Russian President Putin since late 2022: Report

Putin on Starlink

Putin, reportedly, also asked Musk once not to activate his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan "as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping."

The White House refused to comment on the report, with National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby telling reporters on Friday they were “not in a position to corroborate” the WSJ report. 

Meanwhile, a Pentagon spokesman told the publication that the Defence Department "does 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."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Musk and Putin only had one telephone call and only talked about "space as well as current and future technologies."