3 weeks ago
A senior Russian lawmaker on Friday said that Russia could offer political asylum to tech billionaire Elon Musk amid his ongoing public feud with US President Donald Trump, though the Kremlin has distanced itself from the dispute, saying that “this is an internal matter of the United States. We are in no way going to interfere in this, or comment on it in any way.”
The rift between Musk and Trump, who were seen as close allies during and after the 2024 US presidential election, intensified this week, on June 5, as they traded accusations in a huge public spat on social media. The move followed the Tesla and SpaceX founder’s harsh criticism of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”, which Musk claimed would deepen the US national debt.
“If he did [need political asylum], of course, Russia could offer it,” Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s Affairs Committee, told state-run TASS. However, Novikov added that Musk is “playing a completely different game” and likely wouldn’t seek asylum.
On the other hand, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday declined to weigh in on the spat when asked for a comment, saying, “This is a domestic issue of the United States, and we don’t intend to interfere.”
“We’re confident the US president will handle this situation on his own,” Peskov added.
The asylum offer, though largely symbolic, recalls previous cases such as NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia in 2013, and British blogger Graham Phillips, who also received protection from Moscow.
Musk resigned last week as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a controversial federal agency created to rein in government spending. His departure followed escalating clashes with the White House over fiscal policy and budget priorities.
The split quickly turned public and personal. Musk accused President Trump of reckless spending and claimed that without his $300 million campaign donation and support, Trump would never have won re-election in 2024.
In a series of sharp online posts, Musk backed efforts to impeach the president, criticised Trump’s import tariffs and warned that the US economy was headed for a recession in the second half of 2025. Trump hit back, accusing Musk of abandoning his duties at DOGE and saying the billionaire “went crazy.” The president also threatened to revoke all federal contracts and subsidies linked to Musk’s companies.
The fallout has already sent shockwaves through financial markets, with Tesla shares tumbling sharply on Friday and Musk’s threat to pull out of a key US space program has heightened tensions further.
Published By:
Shipra Parashar
Published On:
Jun 7, 2025
