A recent report claimed that Elon Musk has been summoned to the Pentagon to attend a top-secret military briefing about a potential “war with China.” The news raised questions about America’s “First Buddy’s” growing power as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. However, Donald Trump has since responded to the speculation, slamming the media outlet for spreading “fake news.”
Pete Hegseth, from the Department of Defense, also disputed the claims. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both covered that Elon Musk has received an invitation to have a look at a “top secret” military briefing at Pentagon if a war was to break out between America and China. The media outlets cited two U.S. officials as source for this information.
They claimed that the Tesla owner would be briefed by Hegseth and two other officials who had a key role in building the “maritime tactics and targeting plans.” According to the Times, the war plan includes about 20 to 30 slides that details on how the United States with handle sucha conflict with China. The outlets emphasized that Musk has been summoned so he would have a idea of Pentagon’s budgeting for the plans since his DOGE has been putting extra effort into cutting government waste.
The news quickly gained attention as many questioned about his growing power amid his other controversial actions as the head of Department of Government Efficiency. However, Donald Trump was quick to safeguard the nation’s “first buddy’ against further questions. On his Truth Social, he slammed The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, for spreading misinformation.
“They said, 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!!!” the President wrote.
The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times. They said, 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…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 21, 2025
DOD secretary Hegseth echoed Trump. On X (formerly Twitter), he said, “We look forward to welcoming @elonmusk to the Pentagon tomorrow. But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.” He also reposted a post made by Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon Spokesperson, who shared a screenshot of the article published by The New York Times with the title “Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China.” Parnell wrote, “This is 100% fake news. Just brazenly & maliciously wrong. Elon Musk is a patriot. We are proud to have him at the Pentagon.”
Pete Hegseth additionally added that Elon Musk is just visiting to discuss “innovation, efficiencies, & smarter production.” Although it has been confirmed that the tech billionaire is set to visit the Pentagon on Friday, his purpose remains unclear.
We look forward to welcoming @elonmusk to the Pentagon tomorrow.
But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about “top secret China war plans.” It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great! https://t.co/sIhsUjqbG9
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) March 21, 2025
Despite the administration’s denial of his access to top-secret military plans, questions surfaced about his conflict of interests. As the head of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has business interests in China, which might put him in a difficult position. With the intention of infiltrating the nation’s growing car industry, the DOGE head has often gone the extra mile to make nice with China. According to Daily Mail, about 22.5 percent of Tesla’s revenue comes from sales in Xi Jinping’s nation.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, Elon has strongly condemned tariffs on China. “Things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good…I’m in favor of no tariffs,” Musk said during a tech conference in Paris.
However, at the same time, the White House has previously emphasized that the Tesla owner will recuse himself if his business interests and his role as the head of DOGE ever come into conflict.
Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing have been caught up in intense relations for decades over many differences, including trade tariffs, cybersecurity to TikTok, technology access, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and COVID-19, among many other things.
