|
Biden was asked at a news conference whether he thought Musk was
a threat to national security and if his acquisition of Twitter
with help from a Saudi Arabian conglomerate should be
investigated by the U.S. government.
"I think that Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical
relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked
at," Biden said.
"Whether he is doing anything inappropriate, I'm not suggesting
that. I'm suggesting they're worth being looked at."
The White House said last month that reports the United States
was discussing launching a national security review of some of
Musk's ventures including Twitter were "not true."
Musk's purchase of Twitter sparked concerns that he could face
pressure from countries trying to control online speech.
The world's richest man, Musk is CEO of electric carmaker Tesla
which counts China as a key market and production base. Tesla
operates a factory in Shanghai, China, which accounted for about
half of Tesla's global deliveries last year.
Musk is also CEO of rocket and satellite internet company SpaceX,
among others.
Musk previously suggested that tensions between China and Taiwan
could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to
Beijing. Musk also said China has sought assurances that he
would not offer SpaceX's Starlink internet service there.
He also proposed Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia,
while saying SpaceX could not indefinitely fund Starlink in
Ukraine.
Ian Bremmer, head of political-risk consultancy Eurasia Group,
tweeted that Musk told him that he had spoken with Putin and the
Kremlin directly about Ukraine. Musk denied his claims.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose in Washington and
Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Howard Goller)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
