Elon Musk to visit the Pentagon to discuss China
WASHINGTON — Tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk is scheduled to visit the Pentagon on Friday for a briefing that will include a discussion on China, according to two defense officials.
The briefing will be unclassified, the officials said.
The New York Times reported Thursday night that Musk would be briefed on the U.S. military’s plans for any potential war with China, citing two U.S. officials. One official also confirmed that the briefing would be focused on China, and another only confirmed that Musk would be at the Pentagon on Friday, according to the Times’ report.
The defense officials whom NBC News contacted could not confirm the Times’ reporting on Musk being briefed on plans for any potential war with China, known as the operational plan or O plan.
The decision to brief Musk on China would mark a notable expansion of his role in the Trump administration and potentially his access to the nation’s closely guarded secrets. Musk, who Trump has charged with overseeing a government cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency, could also have conflicts of interest as Musk’s own products and businesses are used by the federal government, including Starlink and SpaceX, which contracts with the Defense Department.
Trump denied in a post on Truth Social late Thursday night that the briefing Musk was set to receive Friday would discuss China.
Trump said the Times reported “incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?” China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also called the Times’ reporting “100% Fake News” in a post on X. “Just brazenly & maliciously wrong. Elon Musk is a patriot. We are proud to have him at the Pentagon.”
