U.S. President Donald Trump denied a report saying Elon Musk would fight China with the highest secret plan of the U.S. military.
Report, by The New York TimesMusk — a billionaire business tycoon now oversees cuts of U.S. government personnel and plans seen as “waste” — will brief the Pentagon on Friday morning to see any war plans that could break out with China.
The Pentagon confirmed Musk will visit Friday, but Trump published an article on the truth later Thursday night saying: “China will not even be mentioned or discussed.”
See also: Asian defense stocks soar like Europe, we hope to re-armor – ft
Pentagon head Pete Hegseth said in an article on X that the conference will be “about innovation, efficiency and smarter production.”
A U.S. official told Reuters on anonymity that Musk's briefing will be attended by senior U.S. military officials in the Pentagon, which will be an overview of many different topics, including China.
According to the New York Times report, the briefing will include 20 to 30 slides that illustrate how the United States fights in the conflict with China. The newspaper quoted two unidentified U.S. officials.
It says Wall Street Journal This is also confirmed.
Possible reasons for briefing
The paper explains that Musk and his cost cutters from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “may need to know which weapon systems the Pentagon plans to use in a fight with China.”
Musk has urged the Pentagon to stop buying expensive F-35 fighters and posted on his social media site X in November that “manned fighters are outdated in the age of drones…will be killed.”
Other analysts also debate whether the U.S. should raise funds for a multi-billion-dollar run.
“Musk has done it recently Without notice Visit the National Security Agencyan intelligence agency focused on communication interception, discusses operations and staffing reductions. He also participated in the demolition of the U.S. International Development Agency and folded its remaining functions to the State Department. ”
Starlink satellite, Trump's “golden dome”
Meanwhile, Musk Company SpaceX manufactures and launches Starlink satellites These are used for data and communication services from space, and China may be targeted when war breaks out.
Trump also proposes to build The space missile defense system is called the “Golden Dome” Oppose possible missile threats and recently signed the Pentagon executive order.
The system, described as the American version of the Israeli Iron Dome, is expected to cost millions of dollars.
one Senior U.S. Defense Official This week they said they “focused on meeting the president's demands for the Golden Dome while also re-adjusting the priorities of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”
Steven Morani, deputy minister for the acquisition and maintenance of the Deputy Minister, said they are deciding how to shift people, resources and priorities to providing better support to combat fighters directly.
“[We’re] “Looking for ways to simplify and remove some of the traditional tape sections. Part of it includes looking at the department's real estate portfolio and reducing or eliminating unnecessary things,” he said.
Conflict of interest
Reuters said the closely conservative Chinese plan to gain access to the U.S. military would mark a sharp expansion of Musk's role as Trump's adviser, who pioneered the efforts to cut U.S. government spending, as the administration's $36.5 trillion national deficit now requires annual debt repayment to nearly $1 trillion.
This will also raise questions about Musk's conflict of interest, who has commercial interests in China and the Pentagon as head of Tesla and the Astronauts.
The White House has previously said Musk would withdraw himself from himself if there was any conflict of interest between his business deal and his role in reducing federal spending.
Washington and Beijing have been strained over the differences for years, ranging from fentanyl, access to technology, trade tariffs and cybersecurity to Tiktok, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, human rights and the origins of Covid-19.
- Reuters, and other inputs and editors from Jim Pollard
See also:
Musk “may cut government waste for a year” as Tesla shares plummet
Musk “erodes Tesla’s electric vehicle sales”, but is something bigger in the future?
Trump says he and China's XI may “get along well”
Trump says he will hit China with a lot of tariffs if Taiwan is needed
United States, China holds informal nuclear negotiations to discuss Taiwan
China launches videos that simulate invasion of Taiwan
“Don't help villains do evil”: China slams SpaceX's “spy network”
China's Ministry of Defense has increased by 7% on amid unification change in Taiwan
China fears we will use SpaceX to bring disaster into the world
Find ways to get out or control enemy satellites
China may need to “destroy” Musk's interstellar link – SCMP
Chinese military worries about Elon Musk's star-striped link – PLA Daily
