Elon Musk, tech billionaire and Donald Trump's adviser, met with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon for 80 minutes on Friday, March 21.
By Aniket Chakraborty
Mar 24, 2025
After the meeting, President Trump acknowledged for the first time that Musk's business interests, particularly in China, could pose potential conflicts of interest.
2
Trump stated, "Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that," suggesting limits to Musk's access to sensitive military information.
3
The New York Times had reported that Musk was going to be briefed on secret war plans for China, which was vehemently denied by Trump, Musk, and others.
4
Musk demanded prosecution of any Defense Department officials found leaking "maliciously false information" about his Pentagon visit.
5
On his platform X, Musk wrote, "I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found."
6
Trump called the New York Times report "ridiculous" and "completely untrue," insisting that China would not even be mentioned or discussed during Musk's visit.
7
Trump emphasized that he wouldn't show U.S. plans for a potential war with China to anybody, "certainly not to a businessman, who is helping us so much."
8
Musk's companies, including SpaceX, had previously secured multiple Defense Department contracts, creating potential conflicts of interest.
9
The Pentagon, which Musk visited, is responsible for a major portion of federal government spending, making high-level meetings with business leaders particularly sensitive.