Is Pentagon about to inform Elon Musk this Friday, March 21, of the American military plan in the event of war with China, as two American officials said the day before? A few hours after the publication of the information by the New York TimesPentagon officials as well as Donald Trump denied that the meeting would relate to military projects involving China. “China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” denied the 47th President of the United States in a message published late in the evening on social networks. For his part, the tech billionaire swore that it was “pure propaganda”, while threatening the pentagon leaks. “They will be found,” he warns on X.
If it is difficult to know the content of the upcoming meeting, such a sharing of information would represent a new turn within the Trump administration. Because, giving Elon Musk access to the best kept military secrets in the country would constitute a “considerable extension” of his already major role of advisor to Donald Trump, worries the New York Times. In addition to extending the powers of the billionaire, a possible sharing of ultra-confidential information would raise numerous questions of interest conflicts, taking into account the multiple caps of the founder of Tesla.
Indeed, Elon Musk occupies many positions in the federal administration, while continuing to lead companies which are important subcontractors of the government. Consequently, it is a major supplier of the Pentagon, which has significant financial interests in China. Note that the White House did not specify if Donald Trump had signed a renunciation of conflicts of interest for Elon Musk.
“This is 100 % false information”
Shortly after the publication of his article by the New York Times Thursday evening, the reactions were not long in coming. Starting with that of the Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, who made a brief statement: “The Ministry of Defense is delighted to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by secretary Hegseth and is simply visiting.” Before being a little more aggressive on his X account: “”This is 100 % false information. Simply shamelessly and badly wrong. Elon Musk is a patriot. We are proud to have it at the Pentagon. “
Same indignation with the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who also spoke on X Thursday evening: “It is not a meeting on ‘Top Secrets War Plans against China”‘ It is an informal meeting on innovation, efficiency and a more intelligent production. It’s going to be great! ‘ About 30 minutes after this publication on social networks, the Wall Street Journal Confirmed that Elon Musk should be informed of the plans of a possible war against China.
According to the American press, Elon Musk should therefore be presented with the details of the American plan to counter China in the event of a military conflict between the two countries. The meeting is expected to be held in the tank, a secure pentagon conference room, generally used for high-level meetings of members of the staff committee, their upper staff and visiting combat commanders. The opportunity to speak military strategy in a very specific jargon and far from being accessible to everyone. “Operational plans for major unforeseen events, such as a war with China, are extremely difficult to understand for people without great experience in military planning,” said the still New York Times.
Towards a budget reduction?
According to a person aware of the arrangements, Elon Musk would have asked to be informed of these details. For what ? This aspect is not clear, but one of the hypotheses would be that he needed visibility to know where to cut into the pentagon budget. For his part, Michael Sobolik, researcher at the Hudson Institute in Washington, has advanced in the Wall Street Journal That the leaders of the Pentagon may be sought to protect themselves from a possible reduction by Elon Musk from sensitive military programs. “But they don’t need to give him a complete briefing to avoid this,” he added.
Proof that Elon Musk is increasingly interested in these subjects, the businessman recently called the Pentagon to stop buying the F-35 hunters from Lockheed Martin and to turn to a large fleet of drones. Recently, Elon Musk made a surprise visit to the NSA, a national security agency in the United States, to discuss its operations and its workforce discounts. Finally, he also participated in the dismantling of the American Agency for International Development (USAID) and the attachment of its remaining functions in the State Department. It remains to be seen what will be the next victim of Elon Musk.