Summary

Elon Musk is unlikely to receive the highest-level government security clearance due to concerns over drug use, foreign contacts, and potential risks of disclosing classified information, according to Wall Street Journal reports.

Musk, who holds “top-secret” clearance, has faced scrutiny for past drug use, including marijuana and alleged ketamine use, and reported contacts with Vladimir Putin since 2022.

SpaceX lawyers advised against seeking higher clearance, fearing denial and revocation of existing clearances.

While Musk may bypass traditional clearance under Trump’s incoming administration, he currently lacks access to SpaceX’s most classified projects.

  • @boaratio
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    121 hour ago

    I had a friend, at my first job out of college, have his “sensitive” security clearance denied after a full year of background checks because during his polygraph he admitted to trying cocaine when he was in college. That’s the lowest level of security clearance, and yet musk somehow has a clearance near the top.

  • Flying Squid
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    114 hours ago

    Is it unlikely or will he not get it?

    Anyway, whatever level of security clearance he gets, he’ll invariably blab out some secret on Twitter while making one of his “hilarious” jokes during a ketamine binge.

    • @DreamlandLividity
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      2 hours ago

      If I am not mistaken, the President has a lot of authority over security clearances. So for the next 4 years, just like with many other things, it will depend on how a certain Orange feels that day.

  • @hark
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    649 hours ago

    I hope he pisses off trump enough to get destroyed.

  • @[email protected]
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    fedilink
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    419 hours ago

    Musk, who holds “top-secret” clearance, has faced scrutiny for past drug use, including marijuana and alleged ketamine use, and reported contacts with Vladimir Putin since 2022.

    That escalated quickly.

    • Flying Squid
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      94 hours ago

      I would bet his ketamine use predated the time he famously smoked weed on Rogan’s show.

      And he does not strike me as a regular consumer of cannabis.

    • @SarcasticMan
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      277 hours ago

      Marijuanas is a gateway drug. I smoked 3 marijuanas and 5 weeks later came out of my k hole and I was in the middle of multi-billion dollar business deal with Kim Jong Un. Never smoking marijuanas again.

        • @Jesus_666
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          74 hours ago

          Remember the classical progression: Marijuana, then ketamine, then Putin.

    • @Graphy
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      88 hours ago

      I quickly went from thinking “yeah i can’t blame him those sound like the usual reasons why no one wants to work for the feds” to “oh”

    • Flying Squid
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      84 hours ago

      Not that he should, but I would bet that’s less unusual than you would think. I imagine a lot of defence contractor CEOs are not given the clearance to access certain pieces of information that those working on the project have because some things need to be kept need-to-know.