SpaceX CEO Elon Musk may not receive top security clearances — even though roughly 400 staffers at his rocket company already have those permissions.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, SpaceX lawyers advised executives not to attempt to secure higher security clearances for the mercurial CEO, since that would force him to disclose information about his frequent contacts with foreign nationals, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, as well as his much-rumored drug use.
Musk currently holds a "top secret" security clearance, giving him access to "some national security secrets," but not the full clearance required by staff who work on classified programs, sources told the WSJ.
Even his current security clearance took years to obtain after famously smoking weed with Joe Rogan in 2018. SpaceX lawyers are also reportedly considering his ketamine use, a hotly debated subject in the media.
Worse yet, by seeking an even higher security clearance, Musk may risk losing his current "top secret" clearance, the lawyers worry.
But now that he's been put in charge of a so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by president-elect Donald Trump, these concerns may soon be a moot point. Now that Musk has secured himself prominent placement among the incoming administration's ranks, the richest man in the world may soon have a much easier time accessing highly classified information.
Without permissions for "sensitive compartmented information," which several hundred SpaceX employees have, Musk is reportedly unable to access certain information about his company's spy satellite program, called Starshield. According to the WSJ, he isn't even allowed to enter most facilities where related work is being done.
Earlier this year, the WSJ reported that Musk had a long history of using psychoactive drugs, including LSD and psychedelic mushrooms. His lawyer, however, later disputed the report, arguing that he had "never failed" a drug test at SpaceX.
Whether Musk will have to fill out a full questionnaire and disclose his drug use, as well as his extensive communications with foreign nationals, remains to be seen. With the ear of the president of the United States, Musk could soon have unfettered access to highly classified information without having to jump through additional hoops.
Besides, now that they're in charge of DOGE, both he and pharma exec Vivek Ramaswamy will likely have to sift through some highly classified data anyway — as they've already promised to slash the Pentagon's spending in the coming years.
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