Trump and Pentagon officials deny Elon Musk got China war plan briefing

WASHINGTON — Trump adviser Elon Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday for a briefing that President Donald Trump insists was focused on the tech mogul's Department of Government Efficiency efforts, disputing a New York Times report that the meeting would include a discussion of plans for any potential war with China.

"He's there for DOGE, not there for China, and if you ever mentioned China, I think he'd walk out of the room," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office later in the morning when asked about Musk's meeting.

The Times was first to report Musk's Pentagon briefing. Citing two U.S. officials, the news outlet also reported that the meeting would focus on what the military might do if any war were to break out with China. Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, repeatedly denied the report.

“We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about DOGE, to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations," Hegseth told reporters at the Oval Office after he and Trump had announced the production of a next-generation fighter jet. "It was a great, informal conversation. The rest of that reporting was fake. There was no war plans, there was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans."

Hegseth, who had met with Musk in the morning at the Pentagon, did not say whether the discussion completely excluded talk about China more generally.

Musk arrived at the Pentagon at a little before 9 a.m. ET and his visit lasted a little over an hour. When asked afterward how the meeting went, he told reporters as he was walking with Hegseth, “It’s always a great meeting.” 

“I’ve been here before, you know," Musk added as the two men joined in a laugh.

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Three defense officials had confirmed to NBC News earlier Friday that Musk had been scheduled to have a briefing at the Pentagon, and one of the topics would be China. But the officials could not confirm that the meeting would focus specifically on plans for any potential war, known as the operational plan, or O plan. Two of the officials also said the briefing would be unclassified.

The decision to brief Musk on military plans for China would mark a notable evolution of his involvement in the Trump administration and, potentially, his access to U.S. secrets. Musk, whom the president 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.

Musk also has deep financial interests in China — his electric vehicle maker Tesla has two facilities in Shanghai, and China is the company's second-largest market.

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Late Thursday night, Trump denied the Times' article, saying in a post to his Truth Social platform that the news outlet had 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!!!”

Asked for comment about Musk's visit to the Pentagon, the White House referred to the president's Truth Social post.

Hegseth also denied the Times report, saying in a post on X "this is NOT a meeting about 'top secret China war plans.' It's an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell 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.”

Asked Friday in the Oval Office why he wouldn't want to show potential plans for a war with China to Musk, Trump said, "I don’t want to show that to anybody, but certainly you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. He’s a great patriot," referring to Musk's spearheading of the administration's efforts to slash the size of government.

"He’s finding tremendous waste, fraud and abuse," Trump said. "But I certainly wouldn’t want, you know Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that, but it was such a fake story.”