Elon Musk is one of the people most influential and powerful of the business world. The magazine Fortune places him at the top of a list which also includes Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway.
Musk has a remarkable ability to increase his wealth and indulge in some whims, such as acquiring Twitter (now X). However, his fortune and authority are not everything. The tycoon is having difficulty receiving a huge Tesla stock bonus. And, at SpaceX, you’re not allowed into some meetings, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Musk has limited access to classified information handled by SpaceX
It is striking that the executive director of the company he founded sees his access to information limited. about certain projectsbut the aforementioned American newspaper points out that this is precisely what is happening with Musk.
SpaceX has forged a close collaboration with the US government, launching secret payloads into orbit and developing the Starshield spy satellite program. As a result, SpaceX handles highly confidential information for national security reasons.
In this context, some employees of the aerospace company have a security clearance granted by the United States Government that exceeds that of its own CEO. Musk has a “top-secret” authorizationbut this restricts access to detailed information about the classified programs SpaceX works on.
Hundreds of SpaceX members, for their part, have a “sensitive compartmented information” type authorization. This type of authorization provides access to very sensitive information and is compartmentalized to prevent leaks to unauthorized persons.
Since Musk lacks the highest level security clearance, he is not allowed to enter facilities where works on classified projects. WSJ sources point out that Musk is usually not aware of the classified payloads launched by his rockets.
The CEOs of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and their rocket joint venture, United Launch Alliance, do have top-level clearances. Why is Musk outside this group? The US government grants these authorizations after a strict approval process.
During the process, those involved must answer questions about very personal information. One of the reasons Musk has not obtained a security clearance comparable to that of the competition is to avoid questions related to his contacts with foreign citizens and use of illicit substances.
However, this scenario could change drastically next year. Musk has not only established himself as one of the Donald Trump’s main alliesbut will also be part of an initiative called DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), whose objective is to improve the efficiency of the Government. The next president of the United States could offer him a higher level of security, bypassing the traditional process.
Images | Daniel Oberhaus | Glenn Beltz
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