Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who is now at the center of Donald Trump's election campaign, has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin for the past two years, according to a recently published report in the US.
The Wall Street Journal, citing several insiders and former US, European and Russian officials, reported that conversations between Putin and Musk "veered" from the personal to the geopolitical and included a request from the Russian leader not to activate his Starlin satellite , the Internet service on Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader and Putin ally Xi Jinping.
The implications of a secret communication channel between Musk and Putin are huge for Western security.
The Tesla tycoon is a key player in the US space program and has a top-level security clearance.
His company SpaceX launches US national security satellites, his Starlink satellite communications system is critical to the war in Ukraine, and he runs one of the world's largest and most influential social media platforms, X, which has provided a vehicle for Russian disinformation campaigns.
Moreover, if Trump is elected on November 5, Musk could play an important role in a new US administration. He has thrown his money into the campaign and made numerous personal appearances at rallies. Trump has suggested that Musk could lead a government commission on efficiency if he wins.
Earlier this month, journalist Bob Woodard reported in his new book that Trump himself has had as many as seven private phone calls with Putin since leaving office.
Trump has said that he will not comment on the report, but that if he had spoken to Putin it would have been "a smart thing".
The Wall Street Journal report said the extent of Musk's contacts with Putin was a secret and even some officials in the Biden White House had not been aware.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that the only communication the Kremlin had with Musk was over a single phone call in which he and Putin discussed "space, as well as current and future technologies," while Musk has yet to make any comment.