Pentagon scheduled a meeting with this Friday (21) To present to the billionaire the US military plans in case of any conflict with China, two US officers said on Thursday (20).
Another government member confirmed that the meeting would focus on China, without giving more details. An official room said Musk would indeed be in the Pentagon, but did not reveal the reason for the visit.
A few hours after the report of the The New York Times Revealing the meeting, defense department officials, and President Donald Trump denied that the goal would discuss military strategies involving China. “China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” Trump said in a social media post at dawn.
It was not clear if the briefing It would happen as planned. If it happened, granting Musk access to some of the most sensitive secrets in the US defense area would represent a significant expansion of its already growing role as Trump’s informal counselor and a central figure in government plans to cut spending and reshape the public machine.
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The episode also draws attention to possible conflicts of interest, as Musk is influenced by the federal structure while commanding companies that are major government suppliers. Musk, CEO of Spacex and Tesla, is today one of the Pentagon’s leading business partners – and has wide financial interests in China.
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The so -called “O-plans”(Operational Plans), as the Pentagon’s war strategies are internally known, are among the most protected documents of the American military apparatus. If a foreign country knows how the US plan to attack it, it can strengthen its defenses and minimize vulnerabilities-which would seriously compromise the effectiveness of plans.
According to sources with knowledge of the content, the briefing UltraSecret related to any conflict with China is about 20 to 30 slides. The material describes how the US would react to a climb, from the first signs of threat to the definition of Chinese military targets, with deadlines and alternatives that would be subjected to the president for a decision.
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The White House did not respond to a request for commentary on the goals of the visit, how it was organized, if Trump was aware and if the presence of Musk would represent potential conflict of interest. The government also did not clarify if Trump signed any ethical exemption allowing the participation of Musk in this type of meeting.
Pentagon’s main spokesman Sean Parnell initially did not answer the questions. Shortly after the publication of the report of the NOWhe released a brief note: “The Defense Department is enthusiastic about receiving Elon Musk at the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting.”
About an hour later, Parnell published on the X (former Twitter) network: “This is 100% Fake News. Totally and maliciously wrong. Elon Musk is a patriot. We are proud to welcome him to the Pentagon.”
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The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, also commented on the social network: “This is not a meeting on ‘ultra -secret war plans with China’. It is an informal meeting to deal with innovation, efficiency and intelligent production. It will be great!”
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Half an hour later, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that Musk was programmed to receive a briefing About US military planning in case of war with China.
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Regardless of the final agenda, the episode opens the singular role of Musk, which is both the richest man in the world and a figure with wide powers delegated by Trump.
Musk has security authorization, and it is up to Hegseth to determine who should have access to the plans.
Sources reported that, in addition to Hegseth, Admiral Christopher W. Grady, interim president of the joint staff, and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, commander of the Indo-Pacific command would participate in the presentation. They would detail the American plan to face China in a scenario of military conflict.
The meeting would not be held at Hegseth’s office-where informal meetings usually take place-but in the tank, a secure conference room of the Pentagon, reserved for high-level meetings between members of the state-state, advisers and military commanders.
Operational plans for large -scale conflicts, such as a war with China, are technically complex and difficult to understand for those who have no formation in military planning. Therefore, presidents usually receive only an overview – not the details of the plan. It is not known how many information Musk wanted or expected to obtain.
Hegseth, in turn, had already been informed about parts of the plan in two recent briefings-one last week and one on Wednesday.
It is still unclear why Musk was included in such a sensitive meeting. He does not hold office in the military hierarchy nor is Trump’s formal advisor on defense -related topics.
A possible justification would be its performance ahead of the so -called Doge (Department of Government Efficiency). If the team wants to propose Pentagon budget cuts strategically, it may be necessary to know the weapons systems that the US plan to use in a war with China.
Still, Musk’s business interests make any access to confidential information about China delicate. Ethics experts point to clear risks. Part of recent revisions in US military plans involves defense strategies against space attacks. China has already developed weapons capable of reaching American satellites.
Starlink satellites, in low terrestrial orbit, operated by Spacex, offer communication and data services and are considered more resilient than traditional satellites. Musk, therefore, would be interested in knowing if the US would be able to protect them in case of conflict.
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Participating in a confidential meeting on China’s threats, along with the main names of the American defense, would represent a valuable opportunity for any company that wants to sell solutions to the government.
Musk could identify future demands and adjust Spacex’s offer, which he still commands as CEO.
At the same time, Musk is the target of an investigation by the Pentagon inspector-general about possible failures in compliance with the requirements of his ultrascrete level safety authorization.
The investigation began last year, after complaints from Spacex employees to federal agencies, claiming that Musk and other executives were not reporting contacts with foreign authorities – as the protocols require.
Prior to the end of the Biden government, the Air Force began its own analysis, after Democratic senators questioned Musk’s conduct and claiming that it breaches security rules.
The Air Force even denying a musk request for even more restricted authorization – known as Special Access Program – claiming security risks associated with the billionaire.
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Spacex has become so strategic for the Pentagon that the Chinese government has already claimed to consider the company an extension of the US Army.
A study published last year by the National University of Defense Technology in China, translated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, had the following title: “Starlink militarization and its impact on global strategic stability.”
Musk and Tesla, its electric car automaker, depend strongly on China. The company’s factory in Shanghai, inaugurated in 2019 with special authorization from the Chinese government, is one of the most advanced in the group and is responsible for more than half of the brand’s global deliveries.
In 2023, Tesla reported that it had a financing agreement of US $ 2.8 billion with Chinese institutions to fund its local production.
Publicly, Musk avoids criticism of Beijing and has already shown a willingness to collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party. In 2022, he wrote an article for China’s Cyberspace Administration Magazine – the country’s censorship agency – promoting its companies and missions in favor of humanity.
That same year, he told the Financial Times that Taiwan should be transformed into an “acceptable special administrative zone”, giving some control to China – a statement that pissed out politicians from the island. In the same interview, he said Beijing demanded guarantees that he would not sell Starlink in China.
The following year, at a technology conference, Musk stated that Taiwan was “an integral part of China which, arbitrarily, is not treated as such” – and compared the situation to Hawaii compared to the US.
In Network X, a platform he runs, Musk often praises China. He has said that the country is “from afar” the world leader in electric vehicles and solar energy, and that the Chinese space program is “much more advanced than people think.” It also encouraged more people to visit the country and even said that an alliance between Russia and China would be “inevitable.”
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