SpaceX founder and US President Donald Trump’s chief government efficiency liaison Elon Musk met Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday at the Pentagon, saying he was ready to do “anything that could be helpful”.
According to a CNN video of the two men leaving their meeting, Mr Musk refused to answer questions as to whether he received a classified briefing on China as part of the visit.
Mr Trump said later on Friday that war plans should not be shared with Mr Musk because of his business interests, a rare suggestion that the billionaire entrepreneur’s expansive role in the administration will face limits.
Mr Trump made the comments during an Oval Office meeting on developing a new fighter jet, and he rejected reports that Mr Musk would be briefed on how the US would fight a hypothetical war with China.
“Elon has businesses in China,” the Republican president said. “And he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that.”
Mr Trump praised Mr Musk as a patriot. However, the reference to his businesses – which include Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer trying to expand sales and production in China – is an unusual acknowledgement of concerns about Mr Musk balancing his corporate and government responsibilities.
Mr Trump had previously brushed off questions about Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, simply saying that he would steer clear when necessary.
Mr Hegseth had said late on Thursday that he would be meeting Mr Musk to discuss “innovation, efficiencies and smarter production”.
The Pentagon is in the middle of identifying personnel and programmes it can cut to save between 5% and 8% of its budget, but politicians and government watchdogs have questioned whether Mr Musk should have any role in decisions at the Pentagon, where his company SpaceX receives billions of dollars in federal contracts.
Mr Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has played an integral role in the Trump administration’s push to dramatically reduce the size of the government.
Mr Musk has faced intense opposition from some politicians and voters for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programmes, although the Republican president’s supporters have hailed it.
A senior defence official told reporters on Tuesday that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the US Defence Department.
In a post on Mr Musk’s X platform, Mr Hegseth emphasised that “this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans’,” denying a newspaper report.
