China’s hold over Tesla raises questions about Musk’s bid for Twitter

By dominating the supply of multiple components critical to the fortunes of Tesla, the Chinese government holds so much leverage over chief executive Elon Musk’s wealth that his planned acquisition of Twitter should concern national security leaders, a dozen current and former officials involved in reviewing foreign investments told The Washington Post.

While Musk has said he would have Twitter permit an even wider range of discourse than it does today, the ability of Chinese leaders to affect Musk’s fortunes could embolden them to ask that he identify opposition and American Twitter users, block content the government considers illegal, or at least allow its own propaganda to spread unchecked, these people said.

There is no way to know how Musk and a privately owned Twitter would respond, and Musk did not answer emailed questions. But because the majority of his wealth is tied up in or backed by Tesla shares, some experts said the interagency group that reviews foreign investments should escalate its nascent probe of the deal.

“Given the volume of information, the number of users that Twitter has, and the amount therefore of sensitive personal data that Twitter has, any foreign investment is likely to be closely scrutinized,” said Richard Sofield, a partner at Vinson & Elkins who led such Justice Department reviews under the previous two presidents.