Elon Musk’s company SpaceX directly received investments from Chinese investors, according to court proceedings in Delaware. This is the first time that the fact of China’s direct involvement in a private company that fulfills important US military orders has been officially confirmed, reports ProPublica.
Investor Iqbaljit Kalon, close to SpaceX management and known as an intermediary for wealthy clients, admitted under oath that the Chinese investors were “directly in the capitalization table” companies, that is, they were among the shareholders. His testimony was revealed by previously classified documents, made public after the court decision at the initiative of journalists.
Previously, it was believed that investments from China came to SpaceX only indirectly – through intermediary funds. Now it became known about direct investments, which indicates the company’s closer ties with Chinese capital. At the same time, the full ownership structure of SpaceX remains classified.
SpaceX is a key contractor for the US government — the company builds satellites for the Pentagon, launches missions for NASA and operates the Starlink Internet service used by US embassies. Because of this, foreign investments, in particular from China, cause serious concern in the field of national security.
Experts warn that even limited access by foreign investors to non-public SpaceX information, such as data on contracts or suppliers, could pose a serious threat to the United States. It is known that China systematically uses investments in strategic industries to obtain intelligence.
Court documents mention investors from China, Qatar, Malaysia, Russia and other countries, but their names have not been disclosed. In particular, in 2021, Kahlon personally raised funds in China to buy a stake in SpaceX, promising investors access to internal updates and even a meeting with the company’s CFO. One Shanghai company transferred $50 million, but the deal was canceled after publicity.
SpaceX and Kahlon himself declined to comment. The US Congress has already called the situation a “potential cover-up”; and called for greater transparency given SpaceX’s role in Defense Department and NASA projects.
