Reports: Musk to get briefed on top secret China war plan

Elon Musk and Chinese officials inaugurate Tesla factory in Shanghai

(Image credit: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 21 March 2025

What happened

Elon Musk was scheduled to have a briefing at the Defense Department Friday on the Pentagon's top secret war plans for China, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Who said what

Giving Musk access to "some of the nation's most closely guarded military secrets would be a dramatic expansion" of his "already extensive" footprint in President Donald Trump's administration, the Times said. It would also give Musk, "as the head of Tesla, which relies on China for car production, and SpaceX, a U.S. defense contractor, access to sensitive military secrets unavailable to business competitors," the Journal said.

The "impetus" for providing Musk "such a sensitive briefing" was "unclear," the Times said, though he might need to know "aspects of the war plan" so his DOGE operatives did not cut programs integral to a fight with China. Musk "is receiving the briefing because he asked for one," the Journal said, citing a person familiar with the arrangements.

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What next?

The Pentagon confirmed Musk's visit, but Trump said on social media last night that "China will not even be mentioned or discussed." Musk threatened "prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information" to the Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.