The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter on Saturday to Elon Musk demanding that U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan get access to SpaceX's Starshield, a satellite communication network designed specifically for the military.
The letter, obtained by CNBC and first reported by Forbes, claimed that by not making Starshield available to U.S. military forces in Taiwan, SpaceX could violate its Pentagon contract, which requires "global access" to Starshield technology.
The letter requests that Musk provide the House committee with a briefing on its Taiwan operations by March 8.
Taiwan has been governing itself independently of China since the island split from the mainland during the 1949 civil war.
"I think I've got a pretty good understanding as an outsider of China," Musk said on the All-In Podcast.
Persons:
Elon Musk, Tesla, Forbes, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, Tsai Ing, Lai Ching, Musk, I've, Jaushieh Joseph Wu
Organizations:
Fratelli, Chinese Communist Party, Elon, CNBC, SpaceX, Pentagon, U.S ., Rep, CCP, Starshield, Russia, U.S, Tesla, Foreign
Locations:
Italy, Rome, Taiwan, China, American, Shanghai, Hawaii