Musk accuses ‘deep state traitors’ of targeting him

The SpaceX CEO faces multiple probes over alleged security clearance vetting protocol breaches, the NYT has reported

US federal agencies have initiated at least three reviews into whether Elon Musk and his company SpaceX complied with security reporting protocols designed to safeguard state secrets, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with the New York Times.

Musk currently holds a top-secret security clearance at SpaceX, the highest level granted by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. This clearance allows him access to highly sensitive classified information, including advanced US military technology, but he is required to report details of his private life under the ‘continuous vetting’ rules.

The investigations were triggered by alleged repeated failures to report crucial details about Musk’s travel and other activities, including meetings with foreign leaders, the NYT reported on Tuesday.

SpaceX employees responsible for ensuring compliance have allegedly raised concerns about lax reporting practices within the company since at least 2021. But according to the publication, complaints reached a “tipping point” following Musk’s public support for President-elect Donald Trump and his growing potential “influence” in the upcoming administration.

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“Deep state traitors are coming after me, using their paid shills in legacy media. I prefer not to start fights, but I do end them,” Musk wrote on X on Tuesday, responding to the NYT allegations.

The Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General opened its review this year, while the Air Force and the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security began separate investigations last month, the NYT reported. The agencies have declined to officially confirm or deny the existence of these reviews and have not accused the South African billionaire of disclosing classified material.

Last month, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire and a member of the Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations, expressed concern about Musk’s potential to inadvertently disclose sensitive information. In a letter to the Pentagon Inspector General and the US Attorney General, Shaheen and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island cited an October article in the Wall Street Journal claiming that Musk had multiple conversations with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin in 2022. The newspaper relied on anonymous sources, and provided no evidence to support the assertions.

Musk has dismissed the claims, referring to the senators as “puppets” and questioning who was behind the letter. “Who actually wrote this and made those knuckleheads sign it?” he wrote on X at the time.

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“There will be consequences for those who pushed foreign interference hoaxes,” he vowed last month, threatening to take action against officials and politicians making baseless accusations. “I’m going to find out who’s making these accusations and nuke them.”

The allegations of links between Musk and Russia echo similar accusations leveled against Donald Trump during his first term in office. The widespread claims fueled by media reports and inconclusive investigations were used to undermine his presidency but were later found to be without basis. The Kremlin has also denied claims that Musk frequently communicated with Putin, calling the allegations another ingredient “tossed into” the US political struggles.

Musk has actively supported the president-elect and has become an increasingly influential figure among his team. Trump has picked Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new initiative tasked with reducing government waste and streamlining the federal bureaucracy.