A spokesman for the Kremlin called Tesla founder Elon Musk’s proposal to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin on the audio-based social media app Clubhouse “interesting.”
“We want to figure it out first. President Putin does not personally use social networks directly. He doesn’t have them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to translated remarks from Reuters.
On Saturday afternoon via Twitter, Musk asked the Kremlin if the Russian president would join him for a conversation on Clubhouse, an app that allows users to join virtual rooms and engage in audio dialogue over the internet.
The SpaceX founder posted a second tweet in Russian, which translates to say, “It would be a great honor to speak with you.”
было бы большой честью поговорить с вами
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 13, 2021
Peskov told reporters on a conference call: “In general, this is, of course, a very interesting proposal, but we need to understand what is meant, what is being proposed. … First, we need to check. Then we will react.”
It is not immediately clear what Musk would like to discuss with Putin.
Clubhouse, a relatively new app that went live last April, requires an exclusive invite to sign up for the app, does not maintain records, and does not allow conversations to be recorded. Users can join rooms together and host group conversations, and moderators can be appointed to remove users if they disrupt the conversation.
Putin is known for being skeptical of Western technology services and companies and once referred to the internet as a CIA project. In recent times, he has become more vocally critical of Big Tech giants.
“We are now talking about economic giants, aren’t we? In certain areas, they are competing with states, and their audience can include millions and millions of users,” Putin said in January, stoking concerns that Big Tech companies can potentially “compete” with elected officials and governments.
Musk has used the Clubhouse app to host conversations with figures of relevant topics in today’s media, such as a talk he had earlier this month with Vladimir Tenev, Robinhood’s co-founder, following the GameStop stock surge in January.
The Washington Examiner contacted SpaceX and Clubhouse for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
