--- title: "Elon Musk Reportedly Taking Orders From Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping" description: "Elon Musk has had repeated phone chats with Russian president Vladimir Putin — and is apparently doing his bidding. " date: "2024-10-25" modified: "2024-10-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-taking-orders-putin-xi" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "vladimir putin" --- # Elon Musk Reportedly Taking Orders From Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping ![Elon Musk has had repeated phone chats with Russian president Vladimir Putin — and is apparently doing his bidding. ]() *\Image: Marc Piasecki / Contributor via Getty / Futurism\* ## Yes Sir Elon Musk has had repeated phone chats with Russian president Vladimir Putin — and is apparently even doing his bidding. In [interviews with the *Wall Street Journal*](), federal officials on both sides of the pond have confirmed that since late 2022 Musk has held numerous secret phone calls with the Russian leader in which they discuss everything from their personal lives to global politics. A former Russian intelligence official told the newspaper that during one of those chats, Putin told the billionaire not to activate his Starlink internet satellites over Taiwan as a purported "favor" to China and its president, Xi Jinping. Though the ask came during a period of cooperation between Russia and China, it's otherwise unclear what its motivation might have been. Given that Beijing considers the sovereign state to be [part of its territory]() — and Xi's apparent urge to "[reunify]()" the two countries — it certainly sounds political. While there's no official confirmation as to whether or not Musk acquiesced, the fact that Taiwan still does not have Starlink access seems proof enough that at very least, he hasn't turned on his satellites over the island nation for *some* reason. ## Insider Anxieties As the *WSJ* notes, US officials are understandably quite concerned about them in light of Musk's [increasingly desperate attempts]() to get Donald Trump back into the White House. The calls were not widely known in the American government prior to this reporting. Several current White House officials told the newspaper they were unaware of them. Because [SpaceX operates under federal contracts](), this information could potentially hinder Musk's relationship with the US government — though it doesn't seem to have done so yet. "They don’t love it," one of the *WSJ*'s insiders said of the government's attitude towards the talks. That's a far cry from doing anything about them, though, and the paper's sources say that the Biden administration does not believe any "security breaches" occurred during those phone calls. Musk has not yet responded to these bombshell allegations. Spokespeople for both the Kremlin and Trump's campaign dismissed suggestions of impropriety, with the former saying that talks between Musk and Putin primarily discussed space. **More on Muskian politicking:** [*Elon Musk Appears to Have Realized How Badly He Screwed Up With the "Paying Voters" Thing*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()