Elon Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday for a meeting at the invitation of the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, after which President Donald Trump continued to affirm that Musk was not informed about a war plan with China.
An American official told ABC News that Musk would attend a meeting with the chiefs of joint staff that, among his themes, would touch China. However, instead of meeting with the joint bosses, Musk met with Hegseth and the staff.
He The New York Times reported On Thursday, Musk would receive an informative session of the senior military leaders about a high secret military plan for a possible war with China.
Elon Musk and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shake hands to Pentagon in Washington, on March 21, 2025.
Idres Ali/Reuters
Musk, Hegseth and Trump denied the report. The New York Times says the meeting was canceled due to its report.
“I don’t want to show that to anyone. But certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. He is a great patriot … but he certainly didn’t want to, you know, Elon has business in China, and he would be susceptible to that. But it was such a false story,” Trump told journalists in the Oval office on Friday.
Hegseth said Musk was in the Pentagon to talk about the Efficiency Department of the Musk government.
“There were no war plans. There were no Chinese war plans. There were no secret plans. That is not what we were doing in the Pentagon,” Hegseth said.
The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegesh, speaks with President Donald Trump, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, on March 21, 2025.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
When he started from Hegesh’s office on Friday, journalists asked Musk how the meeting was and replied that “it is always a great meeting.”
“I’ve been here before, you know,” Musk added while he and Hegesh walked together. Musk visited the Pentagon in 2016 to meet with the then Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
Elon Musk arrives for a meeting in the Pentagon in Washington, on March 21, 2025.
Phillip Stewart/Reuters
When they were out of the Pentagon, Hegseth and Musk set their hand and Musk was high: “If there is something that can be done to be useful, I would like to see you.”
Neither of them answered the questions at that time about whether they had discussed China or if it was a classified information session.
Hegseth previously published in X that the meeting was not “China War Plans”, but described it as an “informal meeting on innovation, efficiency, efficiency and smarter production. “
Elon Musk and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Pentagon in Washington, on March 21, 2025.
Idres Ali/Reuters
Trump published on his conservative social networks that China would not be mentioned or discussed during the meeting.
Musk went so far as to suggest that there should be prosecutions of anyone in the pentagon that could have leaked information.
“They will be found,” Musk wrote in X.
Justin Gómez and Chris Boccia of ABC News contributed to this report.
