U.S. Democrats Urge Investigation Of Elon Musk's 'Suspected Communication With Putin'

The U.S. Democratic Party has called for a federal investigation into allegations that Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has been secretly communicating with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin.

Reuters reported that Gene Shaheen, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have written to the Justice and Defense Departments demanding a fact-finding investigation, saying Musk's relationship with Russia could pose a threat to U.S. security.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that since late 2022, Musk has regularly communicated with Russian officials, including Putin and Sergey Kiriyenko, the first deputy chief of the Kremlin, and discussed business as well as international political issues.

In particular, President Putin reportedly even asked Musk late last year not to provide Starlink services to Taiwan for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the letter, Shaheen and Reid said they were very concerned about the allegations that Musk had spoken to Kiriyenko, stressing that communication between Russian officials and security-sanctioned individuals would likely put U.S. security at risk.