Elon Musk's Ties To Foreign Countries "Worthy Of Being Looked At": US President

 

The President of the United States (US), Joe Biden, said on Wednesday that Elon Musk's ties with foreign countries were "worthy of being looked at" amid questions over Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of a stake in Twitter.

Biden reportedly said, "I think that Elon Musk's cooperation and technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at…Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I'm not suggesting that... That's all I'll say.”

He was responding to a question by a reporter about whether he thought Musk was a threat to US national security. A reporter asked the US President if Musk’s acquisition of Twitter with help from a Saudi Arabian conglomerate should be investigated by the US government.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz has become Twitter’s second-largest shareholder after Elon Musk.

Subsequently, US Senator Chris Murphy demanded an investigation. He reportedly said that he was asking the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) "to conduct an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's purchase of Twitter."

Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter deal was finalized last month. Subsequently, Musk said that the social media platform needed to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. He initiated various changes on the social media platform. Twitter also banned a few verified accounts of celebrities with millions of followers. Twitter also banned accounts that impersonate Musk. Twitter also asked users to pay $8 a month for blue tick. Musk also fired many Twitter employees.

Reportedly, the White House said that reports about the United States discussing launching a national security review of some of Musk's ventures, including Twitter, were "not true."