Musk allegedly told US defense officials who treated him like a diplomat: 'Well, I had this great conversation with Putin'

The view in US defense circles about Musk's supposed conversation with the Russian leader was: 'Oh dear, this is not good'

US defense personnel had several conversations with Musk, whose SpaceX firm provides the Starlink communication service used in Ukraine

Elon Musk was treated like a 'diplomat' by senior Pentagon officials and said during a call about the war in Ukraine that he had a 'great conversation with Putin', it is claimed.

The billionaire revealed he'd spoken with the Russian leader during a call around last fall with American defense personnel, who treated Musk like a 'diplomat' because of his influence in the ongoing war, according to the New Yorker.