Is Elon Musk a risk to US national security? Here's what Joe Biden has to say

Elon Musk may be aiming for Mars but here on Earth - and in the United States, specifically, he is grabbing more spotlight than ever before. Musk has been in the news regularly since his takeover of Twitter late October and while the world's wealthiest person does command a huge number of admirers, the reach and presence of his businesses the world over may put him under a glaring lens.

US President Joe Biden was recently asked by members of the press if Musk could be a threat to national security considering the reach of his several businesses and the manner in which some of the funding may be coming in. “Elon Musk's cooperation or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at," Biden replied with a smile, adding that he was not stating that Musk was in the wrong in any way but that it is ‘worth being looked at.’

Musk paid around $44 billion to acquire Twitter and there is some suspicion that part of this may have come from Saudi Arabia. Musk is also the CEO of Tesla, the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker that attaches a lot of priority to China, the world's largest EV market. In the past, Tesla has been under the glare in China over suspicions that its vehicles were collecting data from sensitive sites and storing these at foreign locations. Musk at the time had rubbished these suspicions before assuring that data is stored within the country.

A growing number of people now also suspect that Musk may be unwilling for Twitter to take action against Chinese propaganda against the west - especially the US - over concerns that such a move may adversely impact Tesla prospects in China. It still, of course, is too early as Musk digs in heels at Twitter HQ even as Tesla looks at expanding its global position big time.