White House slams Musk 'antisemitic rhetoric,' but says 'foolish' to drop SpaceX contracts

The White House is not moving distant from Elon Musk's SpaceX oregon Starlink exertion contempt condemning Musk for pushing antisemitic comments connected societal media, National Security Counsel spokesperson John Kirby said Monday.

"There's innovation retired determination successful the backstage assemblage that we'd beryllium foolish to locomotion distant from," Kirby replied, erstwhile a newsman asked if the authorities was reconsidering its contracts with Musk's rocket-maker and his high-speed outer net provider.

"I'm not alert of immoderate circumstantial efforts to code our concerns implicit his rhetoric done the mode that his companies supply enactment to our nationalist information establishment," said Kirby.

Just due to the fact that the national authorities has nary plans to locomotion distant from Musk's technology, however, "doesn't mean that we judge oregon hold with oregon condone successful immoderate mode that antisemitic rhetoric that helium pushed," Kirby added.

Last week, Musk agreed with an antisemitic conspiracy mentation posted connected X, the societal media level formerly known arsenic Twitter. The mentation claimed Jewish radical pushed a "dialectical hatred against whites." Musk replied, "You talk the existent truth."

In effect to the comments, large companies similar Apple and Disney paused their advertizing spending connected X.

Decoupling the national authorities from Musk's companies could beryllium complicated, however.

The Pentagon has commissioned Starlink exertion to supply net sum to Ukraine, arsenic the country's antiaircraft warfare against Russia rages on.

In September, Musk's SpaceX won a separate Pentagon contract for Starshield, a military-specific mentation of Starlink that is inactive nether development.

Earlier this month, SpaceX got permission from the Federal Aviation Authority to behaviour a trial motorboat of its Starship/Super Heavy rocket successful Texas. The Saturday assistance disconnected resulted successful a little flight, earlier the rocket self-destructed.

In the past, senators person scrutinized the Defense Department's dependence connected Musk's technology.

Musk's antisemitic X station past week drew a swift effect from the White House. "We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hatred successful the strongest terms, which runs against our halfway values arsenic Americans," spokesperson Andrew Bates said Friday.

"We each person a work to bring radical unneurotic against hate, and an work to talk retired against anyone who attacks the dignity of their chap Americans and compromises the information of our communities," said Bates.

At Monday's briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she did not person thing to denote arsenic to whether the White House oregon President Joe Biden would suspend their accounts connected X.

She besides would not accidental whether the White House had personally spoken to Musk astir the remarks.

But she said the White House would proceed to telephone out, "those types of hateful, hateful comments."