Elon Musk met with the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday after President Trump and other officials denied reports that he was originally scheduled to receive a top-secret briefing for a potential war with China.
Why it matters: Some lawmakers and ethics experts have raised conflict of interest concerns about Musk’s role as senior adviser to the president while his companies hold substantial government contracts — in particular SpaceX, which has deals with the Pentagon and NASA.
- The billionaire CEO has been the face of DOGE-driven federal cuts that have triggered protests and seen Tesla vehicles and dealerships targeted in attacks the FBI is investigating as domestic terrorism,
- Musk was seen leaving the Pentagon Friday, and multiple outlets reported he had only sat for an unclassified meeting.
- “Always a great meeting,” Musk said as he left. “I’ve been here before, you know.”
- After a New York Times reporter asked Hegseth what he and Musk spoke about, the Defense Secretary responded: “Why would I tell you?”
Driving the news: The New York Times first reported Thursday that unnamed U.S. officials said Musk would be briefed on a military blueprint “for any war that might break out with China.”
- The Wall Street Journal followed with a report that a China war plan would be “one of several topics” discussed during the billionaire’s visit. The Journal said the meeting could have given Musk “as the head of Tesla, which relies on China for car production,” and SpaceX “access to sensitive military secrets unavailable to business competitors.”
“We stand behind our reporting,” a New York Times spokesperson told Axios.
- Musk earlier Friday said on X he looked forward to “the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.”
Trump had weighed in on Truth Social late Thursday to call the NYT’s report on war plans “Fake News” and “ridiculous,” adding: “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 Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Sean Parnell on X called the report “brazenly & maliciously wrong.”
- Parnell called Musk “a patriot” and said he’s “proud to have him at the Pentagon.”
- Hegseth said on X Thursday night he looked forward to welcoming Musk to the Pentagon for “an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production” and said it would not be “a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.'”
- Representatives for the White House, Pentagon, SpaceX, and Tesla did not immediately respond to Axios’ requests for comment.
More from Axios:
- Musk’s SpaceX personnel visiting FAA to suggest improvements
- What Elon Musk’s conversations with Putin could mean for the U.S. government
- What to know about the #TeslaTakedown movement targeting Elon Musk and DOGE
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional developmnets.