President Donald Trump responded to a New York Times article claiming that Elon Musk would receive a Pentagon briefing on U.S. military strategies in the event of a potential conflict with China. The Times, citing two unnamed U.S. officials, reported that the briefing would focus on military plans specifically related to China and was scheduled for Friday.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump vehemently denied the accuracy of the report, asserting that it is “completely untrue” and that the discussion would not involve China. He criticized the Times for what he described as a “fake concept” and suggested that the story was misleading due to Musk's business interests in China. Trump characterized the coverage as “libelous” and dismissed it as part of a broader trend of sensationalist journalism.
Musk also took to social media platform X to express his discontent with the Times' reporting, labeling it as “pure propaganda.” He accused individuals at the Pentagon of leaking false information and expressed a desire for accountability for those responsible.
The Times article highlighted Musk's significant financial ties to China through his company, Tesla, which has established extensive operations and relationships within the country. Meanwhile, a report from the Wall Street Journal corroborated the Times’ claims regarding Musk’s anticipated briefing but provided additional context on the meeting's focus, which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed was not about China war plans but rather about innovation and efficiencies in production.
Hegseth and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell both defended Musk, emphasizing his contributions to national defense and dismissing the Times’ narrative as “brazenly and maliciously wrong.”