Amid Trump-Musk feud, Russia makes BIG offer to Tesla boss, says...

Amid the feud between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Russian lawmaker Dmitry Novikov has suggested that Musk could seek political asylum in Russia. Following a heated exchange of accusations between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump, Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), made the statement, according to Russian News Agency TASS.

"I think that Musk has a completely different game, that he will not need any political asylum, although, if he did, Russia, of course, could provide it," Mr Novikov told the news agency in response to a question about whether Russia is ready to grant asylum to Mr Musk, as Edward Snowden was earlier.

The lawmaker noted that over the years, Mr Musk has formed "a kind of political communication", so "individual disagreements will remain separate disagreements."

"At this stage, the return of the Democratic team to the White House in three years is not what I think Musk needs and not what he is ready to applaud. Therefore, there are tactical differences, and there are strategic things, and he will adhere to them, it seems to me," the parliamentarian explained. 

After former White House strategist Steve Bannon referred to Mr. Musk as "an illegal alien" who ought to be deported from the United States, Dmitry Novikov made these remarks.  Additionally, he called for the US government to take control of SpaceX, the tech billionaire's business.

Mr Bannon, one of Elon Musk's most vocal critics, said, "They [US government] should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately."

After Musk threatened to shut down SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which carries astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), he made this statement. According to Bannon, Donald Trump ought to issue an order under the Defence Production Act to seize control of SpaceX right away since this might pose a major threat to the nation.

When questioned about the dispute on Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment, according to the Moscow Times.

"This is a domestic issue of the United States, and we don't intend to interfere," Peskov told reporters. "We're confident the Us president will handle this situation on his own."

US whistleblower Edward Snowden and British blogger Graham Phillips, who supports the Kremlin, have both been granted shelter by Russia in the past.