US federal agencies have launched at least three audits of Elon Musk and SpaceX to check compliance with reporting requirements governing national security issues. This was reported by The New York Times, citing eight knowledgeable sources and internal documents from the space company.
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The inspections were initiated by the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense, the country’s Air Force and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, the newspaper’s interlocutors said. They clarified that SpaceX and Musk repeatedly violated federal reporting protocols meant to protect state secrets, including not disclosing details about their meetings with leaders of other countries.
The space company has a team that must ensure compliance with national safety standards. Some of the department’s employees have complained to government agencies about sloppy reporting that has been done since at least 2021, sources told the NYT. The newspaper recalled that from 2019 to 2023, SpaceX entered into contracts with the Pentagon and NASA for at least 10 billion dollars.
NYT interlocutors claim that SpaceX employees allowed Musk to ignore many reporting procedures for years because they were afraid of losing their jobs. The issue has come to a head as the billionaire’s influence has grown: US President-elect Donald Trump is on the verge of naming him head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk, his lawyer and SpaceX did not respond to the newspaper’s requests. After the NYT news was published, the businessman wrote on his page
The Ministry of Defense declined to comment to the NYT. The department’s Office of Inspector General said it could neither confirm nor deny an ongoing investigation. The head of the US Air Force, Frank Kendall, noted that the Pentagon takes national security standards seriously.
In mid-December, sources at The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX management did not seek an increase in the level of security clearance for Musk to avoid questions about drugs and the billionaire’s contacts with Vladimir Putin. The company’s senior management followed the advice of SpaceX lawyers, who warned that Musk could lose his current clearance.
Author:
Bogdan Muzychenko
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
