Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke directly to Elon Musk Friday on the billionaire's X platform, part of an effort to counter false conspiracies about federal disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Helene that Musk spread on X, where his follower count stands over 200 million. "No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn't block legitimate rescue and recovery flights," wrote Buttigieg. Buttigieg was replying to a post from Musk that falsely claimed the Federal Aviation Administration was shutting down airspace in the disaster zone and "throttling" flights transporting supplies. An FAA spokesperson told CNBC, "There are no airspace restrictions in place in North Carolina as rescue efforts continue because of Hurricane Helene. Musk frequently uses X to provoke -- but in lashing out at FEMA on Friday, he escalated his battle with the U.S. government.

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Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Elon Musk, Hurricane Helene, Musk, Buttigieg, Helene, Donald Trump, Trump, Musk's, SpaceX's, Tesla, DisasterAssistance.gov Organizations: Elon, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, CNBC, FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Republican, Musk's SpaceX, U.S ., Environmental Protection Agency, penalizing SpaceX, SpaceX, Apple Locations: Hurricane, North Carolina, Asheville, Rutherford