On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden stated that Elon Musk’s relationships with other nations were “worthy” of investigation amid concerns over the Saudi purchase of a Twitter stake as part of the tycoon’s mega-takeover.
“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden said, answering a question from a reporter after a long pause.
“Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that… That’s all I’ll say,” he said.
According to rumors that surfaced last month, the Biden administration was considering conducting a national security investigation of Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, in part due to the support of a significant number of investors.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund are among the investors.
To stop the site from collecting user information that would put human rights advocates and Saudi government critics in jeopardy, two US senators have demanded a review of the Twitter arrangement.
Democrats Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Ron Wyden, the leader of the finance committee, demanded a “thorough scrutiny” of the Twitter purchase last week.
In a statement, Wyden said: “Given the Saudi regime’s history of jailing critics, planting a spy at Twitter, and brutally murdering a Washington Post journalist, the Saudi regime must be blocked from accessing Twitter account information, direct messages and other data that could be used to identify political opponents or to suppress criticism of the royal family.
“I’ve long argued that the United States has a national security interest in protecting Americans’ data from murderous foreign governments, and this Saudi regime absolutely fits that description.”
“We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting US politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform,” said Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Musk has also adopted what is perceived as a friendly public stance toward Vladimir Putin, particularly by reiterating the Russian president’s talking points on the situation.
In addition, he has drawn criticism for advocating that the independent island of Taiwan join China, a suggestion that was warmly received by Chinese authorities but infuriated Taiwanese ones.
Critics draw attention to the commercial connections between Musk and China, a country with tense relations with the United States.
At its Chinese factory in Shanghai, the tycoon’s Tesla autonomous car company has increased production to record levels.
Last month, the White House denied allegations that the US was considering starting a national security probe of some of Musk’s businesses, including Twitter.
