Biden admin considers reviews of Elon Musk's Twitter deal, Starlink — report
The national security reviews would be done through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
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The Biden administration is reportedly mulling launching national security reviews scrutinizing some of Elon Musk's business ventures, including his Starlink internet service and pending $54.20 per share buyout of Twitter. The news dragged down shares of the social media company.
Sources told Bloomberg that U.S. officials are concerned about the billionaire's behavior in the wake of his recent tweets about pulling the plug on Starlink funding in Ukraine, the country's conflict with Russia and his plans to acquire the social media giant with a group of foreign investors.
The discussions, which are still at an early stage, according to the outlet, include the possibility of launching a national security review of the Twitter deal through the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk after a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event on August 25, 2022 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. | Getty Images
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The White House deferred comment to the National Security Council.
"We don’t know of any such discussions," NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson told FOX Business.
Representatives for Musk, SpaceX and the Treasury Department did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment. Twitter declined to comment.
Musk caused a firestorm on Twitter earlier this month when he tweeted out a poll asking respondents to weigh in on a series of proposals to obtain Ukraine-Russia peace.
The proposal included redoing elections of annexed regions under the supervision of the United Nations, making Crimea formally part of Russia, and assuring the water supply to Crimea and Ukraine remaining neutral. Musk said such a scenario was "highly likely" to be the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, noting it was "just a question of how many die before then." He also argued that nuclear war was "a possible, albeit unlikely, outcome" of the conflict."
About 59% of respondents voted no, while 40.9% of respondents voted yes. The poll also drew scrutiny from Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk.
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In addition, Musk sent a letter to the Pentagon asking the federal government to pick up the tab for funding Starlink's operation in Ukraine.
According to Musk, the operation has cost SpaceX $80 million so far and could exceed $100 million by the end of the year. He added that the company's burn is approaching $20 million a month due to supporting Ukraine.
SpaceX's funding request to the Pentagon has since been withdrawn.
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The world's richest man has turned to foreign money to help finance his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
Foreign investors include cryptocurrency exchange Binance, whose holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands, and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud has also agreed to retain his approximately $1.9 billion Twitter stake.
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Musk has until Oct. 28 to close the acquisition of Twitter. If the deal does not close by the deadline, Musk will face trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery over his previous efforts to walk away from it.
Musk has expressed excitement about the Twitter deal despite saying he and other investors are "obviously overpaying" for the platform. In response to one tweet that said it would be "hysterical" if the government stopped Musk from overpaying for Twitter, he replied with the laughing and 100 emojis.
In addition to shares of Twitter falling on Bloomberg's report, the stock was weighed down by a Washington Post report that Musk plans to gut nearly 75% of Twitter's workforce once the deal is finalized. Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett told employees in a memo on Thursday that there are no plans for company-wide layoffs.