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Federal agencies were tracking foreign nationals who visited Elon Musk over concerns that they could influence the tech billionaire, according to a report.
Agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, were reportedly among the agencies surveilling foreigners who met with Musk at his U.S. properties in 2022 and 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
Officials at the FBI and others were briefed on the investigation, The Journal reported, which focused on overseas visitors from Eastern Europe and elsewhere “who might have been trying to influence him.”
The investigation, which predates the second Trump administration, did not result in any charges, the outlet reports.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment when approached by The Independent. The FBI and representatives for Musk did not immediately respond.
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The names or the nationalities of the people being tracked was not revealed.
Concern surrounded sensitive contracts Musk’s five companies hold with the U.S. government and the “unprecedented access” he has to top government officials, according to The Journal. Musk’s own companies have been promised or awarded nearly $21 billion by the U.S. government since 2008, according to data analyzed by The Independent.
The vast majority of the funding comes from federal contracts with SpaceX, the private space company Musk founded back in 2002. The company holds Defense Department contracts for satellite launches, including for the country’s secretive National Reconnaissance Office.
Reports surrounding Musk’s foreign associates being tracked follow his dramatic exit from Washington, D.C., which saw his relationship with President Donald Trump implode last week.
Musk helped re-elect the president by launching his super PAC last year. Eyebrows were raised by staffers within the America PAC over Musk’s association with foreign nationals, according to The Journal. Sources familiar with the PAC’s inner workings told the outlet that they brought in extensive vetting to “keep foreigners out.”
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The Journal reported last October that Musk has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin since 2022, raising security concerns.
Musk was said to have spoken to the Russian president on the phone about business and geopolitical matters, officials with knowledge of the alleged conversations told The Journal.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed one telephone call took place between Musk and Putin where they discussed “space as well as current and future technologies,” the outlet reported, but denied there had been regular conversations.
When reached for comment from Musk at the time, a SpaceX spokesperson told The Independent the claims in the Journal were “misleading” and “unsubstantiated.”
