US agencies tracked foreigners travelling to see Musk

Departments kept tabs on foreign nationals visiting Musk’s properties in 2022 and 2023, reflecting concerns about influence.

Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a naturalised US citizen. Picture: AFP

Several US government agencies in 2022 and 2023 tracked foreign nationals coming and going to Elon Musk’s properties, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investigation included the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department. It focused on people visiting the tech billionaire, from countries in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, who might have been trying to influence him. Until last week, Musk was one of President Trump’s closest advisers.

The investigation didn’t progress to charges and its current status couldn’t be determined. Officials at several agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had been briefed on it.

The probe, predating the current Trump administration, highlights concerns about the number of foreign nationals in Musk’s orbit. Musk runs five companies, including SpaceX, with sensitive government contracts, and has had unprecedented access to top government officials.

The current Trump administration has sounded alarms about the influence of foreigners on the country. Trump recently imposed travel bans and restrictions on more than a dozen countries and on foreign students enrolling at American universities.

Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment. A White House spokeswoman referred requests for comment to DHS and the FBI, and White House officials said they had no knowledge of any previous investigation. The FBI declined to comment.

Trump re-entered office in January after a historic comeback campaign that was buoyed by more than $250 million from Musk’s super political-action committee, mostly funded by the billionaire, and his other political giving. Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a naturalised US citizen, dominated the early days of the administration as a special government employee tasked with slashing the federal budget. But his alliance with Trump imploded last week in a spectacular war of words that saw both men hurling insults and threats.

Elon Musk Musk runs five companies, including SpaceX, with sensitive government contracts, and has had unprecedented access to top government officials. Picture: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Even as they worked together over the past few months, however, there had been signs of tension over Musk’s association with foreign nationals.

Musk travelled with foreigners to such an extent that the staff of his super PAC, which he started last year to help re-elect Trump, became concerned about who was joining him at meetings and events, two people familiar with the group’s operations said.

An official at the group, called America PAC, said they had to institute extensive vetting to keep foreigners out of their efforts. Two campaign staffers also said they were worried about Musk’s coterie of foreign nationals.

Through his businesses and status as the world’s richest man, Musk had established his own relationships with heads of state around the world, sometimes in eyebrow-raising ways.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. Musk’s contacts with foreign nationals led SpaceX lawyers to advise him against seeking a higher security clearance, for fear that he might have to explain the relationships or have his clearance revoked entirely, the Journal reported.

As chief executive of SpaceX, Musk has top-secret security clearance, which gives him access to some national-security secrets. SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002, has worked with national-security agencies since its early days.

Wall Street Journal