President Donald Trump and Elon Musk (R) speak before leaving the White House on their way to their South Florida home in Mar Lago, Florida on March 14, 2025.
Robert Schmidt | AFP | Getty Images
Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is expected to be explained by the Pentagon on Friday about US military plans for a war with China, The New York Times reported Thursday that it cited US officials.
Access to closely guarded military programs will mark a rapid expansion of Musk’s role as Trump adviser who led efforts to cut US government spending.
It will also burn questions about mask conflicts of interest as both heads Tesla SpaceX also has an interest in China and pentagonal business.
The White House previously said Musk would reject himself if a conflict of interest arises between his business transactions and his role in reducing federal spending.
The briefing of the Chinese War Planning has around 20-30 slides explaining how the US will fight conflicts like this, the New York Times reported.
The Pentagon confirmed that Musk will be visiting on Friday, but did not share details.
“The Department of Defense is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He’s only invited by his secretary (Pete) Hegses to visit,” a Pentagon spokesman said.
However, another official Pentagon account for X, known as the DOD Rapid Response, states, “NYT is a propaganda machine that people desperately need to click and read fake news stories.”
A US official speaking about the terms of anonymity said the briefing in Musk would be attended by Pentagon US military officials, summarizing many different topics, including China.
Washington and Beijing have developed tense relationships over the years, ranging from access to technology, trade tariffs and cybersecurity to the origins of Tiktok, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and Covid-19.
