After The New York Times reported Thursday that Elon Musk would be getting a secret Pentagon briefing on the potential for war with China the next day, the tech oligarch was livid.
Musk posted about the article on his X account early on Friday morning, including a screenshot of President Trump criticizing the article in his post and calling the Times “pure propaganda.”
“Also, I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT,” Musk threatened. “They will be found.”
The Times article in question infuriated the president, who rejected the report and claimed that while Musk was scheduled to visit the Pentagon Friday, China wasn’t on the agenda.
“[The Times] said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?’ 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!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also denied the report, with Parnell saying Musk was “just visiting” the Pentagon and Hegseth saying Musk’s meetings at the building will be “informal.” But after their denials, The Wall Street Journal corroborated the Times’s reporting.
Musk has many business interests in China, and depends on the Chinese market for his companies—a red flag for someone with a security clearance and billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts. On top of that, Musk is the world’s richest person and wields tremendous power within the Trump administration for someone whose official title is “senior adviser” to the president. Why then is he receiving top secret defense meetings?
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