The White House has rejected a media report that it is considering a national security assessment of deals by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Financial service Bloomberg wrote late last week, citing its sources, that Musk’s takeover of Twitter could also be affected. “The reports are wrong,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Such an investigation would allow US authorities to prohibit transactions if they determine that they harm the national security of the country. This usually involves the takeover of American companies by foreign companies. That wouldn’t be the case if Musk bought Twitter. However, the tech billionaire recently caused a stir with two foreign policy advances that drew criticism from him.
He proposed making Taiwan a “special administrative region” under Chinese rule. The government in Taipei dismissed this as “unacceptable”. Musk also called for Ukraine to give up Crimea, which Russia has illegally annexed, and agree to a UN-controlled referendum in its Russian-occupied territories.
China is an important market for Tesla
Musk is the boss of the electric car maker Tesla and the value of his shares in the company currently makes him the richest person in the world. Since Tesla has a large factory in Shanghai, which is very important to the company, there have been public concerns that Musk could, for example, curtail freedom of speech around China on Twitter in order to get along with the leadership in Beijing.
The tech billionaire negotiated a deal to buy Twitter in the spring, then tried to get out of the takeover — and finally relented. The purchase could be completed in the coming days. Musk announced, among other things, that he would bring ex-President Donald Trump, who had been banned from Twitter, back to the platform. Trump was kicked out on Twitter after he posted a video in which he spoke positively about his supporters storming the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
