Elon Musk has a message for the CIA

Elon Musk is almost everywhere.

Not a day goes by when he doesn’t tweet. When it’s not news about one of their many companies – Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Reports, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink – He posts about politics, geopolitical matters, or engages with his millions of followers on a variety of topics, ranging from his state of mind Spiritual questions like happiness are involved.

Often the tweets are about their quarrels and enmity. Basically, when Musk’s tweets aren’t about his companies, they are about him.

For two months, from April to be precise, he has monopolized the headlines with his ongoing acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion. The acquisition, which is to be finalized by the end of October, has made him more political. This comes in the wake of his public support for Ukraine since its invasion by Russia on 24 February.

This media overexposure isn’t going to subside because Musk knows how to feed it. It’s even more difficult to ignore because the billionaire is one of the main reasons Tesla’s stock market valuation hit $1 trillion last fall.

He is not only the CEO of the electric vehicle maker, but also the Chief Product Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Spokesperson of Above all. For those who doubt it, Tesla stock had a tough time when Musk shifted his time to April and May, mostly talking about his bid to buy Twitter. Investors were worried that he would be distracted.

Musk’s importance to Tesla is equal to his importance to SpaceX. The rocket company is on a mission to take humans to Mars. This bold ambition is based on Musk’s vision.

The world’s richest man has decided to use his platform to alert his millions of followers to another problem that concerns him. He has revived a renewed concern about the CIA spying on US citizens, saying he would be surprised if they weren’t being spied on.

Musk fears he is spying

Musk tweeted a meme of sorts with the logo, the name of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the following message:

“Does anyone else feel like they (sic) are being watched?”

“You are,” replied tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who is accused of making millions from his Megaupload file-sharing service. ” 24/7 on all your devices and online services, including your own Starlink. In your case it’s not just mass surveillance. You are a priority target. Welcome to the club.”

Which was confirmed by Musk by commenting on the post.

The billionaire went without saying which agency was spying on him, “I’ll be shocked if I *not* spy.”

“My only request is if anyone is spying on me, please don’t affect the call quality too much or I can’t hear what’s being said!”

Musk provided no evidence to back up his claims, which some Twitter users told him.

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One user said, “Prove it this is a bad thing! I dare you.”

The CIA did not respond to requests for comment from TheStreet.

New charges against CIA

It is notable that SpaceX has national security contracts, which include launch cargo for NASA, a secret spy satellite for the intelligence community, and national security payloads for the US military. Some missions may require a security clearance to Musk.

In February, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico raised the alarm that the CIA was again spying on Americans.

He alleged in a letter that the agency had a secret, anonymous database of information gathered on Americans. Although neither the agency nor lawmakers wanted to release details about that data, both senators say the CIA hid details of the program from the public and Congress.

Wyden and Heinrich, both Democrats, called for more transparency from the CIA, including what kind of records were collected and the legal framework for the collection.

Information that the intelligence community collects domestically has long raised concerns, not least because of past violations of Americans’ civil liberties. The CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA) have a mission abroad and are generally prohibited from investigating Americans or American companies by the CIA’s 1947 charter.

But the collection of foreign communications by US spy agencies results in the collection of American messages and data.

In 2013, NSA contractor turned whistle-blower Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a program of data collection, known as PRISM, using widespread Internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence.

It was declared illegal by a court.

Last year, a government watchdog uncovered two CIA data collection attempts. Wyden and Heinrich claimed in February that the agency is likely to again subject Americans to warrantless searches.

The CIA released an unclassified report on one program in February, but declined to declassify another in order to protect “sensitive tradecraft methods and operational sources”, the agency said,

Both senators said in a press release, “These documents show that many of the same concerns Americans have about their privacy and civil liberties apply to how information is processed under CIA executive orders and outside of FISA law.” How to collect and handle , In the release, he cited a letter sent to senior intelligence officers in April 2021.

“In particular, these documents reveal serious problems associated with warrantless backdoor searches of Americans, the same issue that has generated bipartisan concern in the FISA context.”

Wyden and Heinrich learned of the program because they are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He urged top spy officials to make the details of this secret program public.

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