Washington DC [US], March 21 : The US Department of Defence is set to brief Elon Musk on plans for a potential war with China, according to a report by The New York Times.
The publication said that the access would be a major expansion of Elon Musk's government role and highlight his conflicts of interest. It said that the billionaire chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla is a leading supplier to the Pentagon and has extensive financial interests in China.
Musk was also the largest financial supporter of the US President during the presidential campaign.
According to the NYT report, which cited sources, Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will be briefed on Friday by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and top US generals about US plans for a war with China.
The top-secret briefing on the China war plan has about 20 to 30 slides and details the United States' plans to fight China if a war-like situation comes up, NYT reported. It includes "various options on what Chinese targets to hit, over what time period."
However, Pentagon officials and President Trump denied that the session would be about military plans involving China, calling the report "fake". "China will not even be mentioned or discussed," Trump said in a social media post.
"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 the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!" Trump said on Truth Social.
Pentagon's chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, in a statement to the NYT, said, "The Defence Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting."
According to the US publication, Hegseth; Admiral Christopher W Grady, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Admiral. Samuel J. Paparo, the head of the military's Indo-Pacific Command, were set to present Musk with details on the US plan to counter China in the event of military conflict between the two countries.
CNN said that Musk's visit comes as the Pentagon, encouraged by DOGE, considers major cuts to the top of the military in an effort to embrace the Trump administration's push to shrink the US government. It further reported that Musk maintains lucrative contracts with the US Defence Department. In October 2024, the US Space Force awarded USD 733 million in launch contracts to Musk's SpaceX.
Meanwhile, shares of Tesla on Thursday tumbled 5.6 per cent in trading and are now down 45 per cent from their December peak, giving up 96 per cent of that post-election bump, CNN reported.
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