Argentina was headed toward its thrilling victory over France at the World Cup in Qatar, and Elon Musk, the Tesla Inc. CEO and Twitter owner, stood in the stands, laughing and holding a wine glass. A woman approached and asked for a selfie. He obliged and smiled. She briefly spoke to him and departed, according to a short video clip of the encounter posted on TikTok.
Musk didn't appear to recognise the woman or say anything to her. But back in Washington, after her snapshot with the billionaire circulated online, Biden administration officials grew uneasy.
She was Nailya Asker-Zade, a Russian state-controlled TV personality who is regarded by President Vladimir Putin's opponents as one of his top propagandists. And she had just blithely gained access to a man who — among other pursuits — leads one of the US government's most important contractors, rocket company SpaceX, and has held a federal security clearance.
There's no indication that anything about Musk's December encoun...