Elon Musk threatens Pentagon leakers over report on US-China war briefing

The report caused concern regarding possible conflicts of interest as Musk continues to have business interests in China while at the same time playing a more central role in American defence infrastructure.

Elon Musk made a public threat against unidentified Pentagon staff following a New York Times report that the tech tycoon was about to be given a classified briefing on possible U.S. military action against China, according to Politico.

The Times report, released Thursday night US time, quoted unnamed American officials who claimed the Pentagon had arranged a meeting with Musk to brief him on possible war scenarios against China. The report prompted an immediate reaction from both the Pentagon and US President Donald Trump, who acknowledged a meeting with Musk was scheduled but said it was not about China.

"China will not even be mentioned or discussed," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!"

Musk tweeted Trump's denial on X (formerly Twitter), and branded the New York Times "pure propaganda." He even went so far as to express that he anticipated "the prosecution of those in the Pentagon leaking maliciously false information to NYT."

"They will be found," Musk added, in a sharp threat to future leakers.

Growing influence and increasing scrutiny

The initial New York Times article raised alarm about Musk's growing role within U.S. government activities. A Pentagon briefing on such a sensitive subject would mark the increasing sway of the billionaire, whose firms — including SpaceX — are large federal contractors.

The report caused concern regarding possible conflicts of interest as Musk continues to have business interests in China while at the same time playing a more central role in American defence infrastructure.

This is amid growing scrutiny of Musk's role in policy circles, with him playing both a private businessman and an informal advisor to Trump, especially with the 2024 presidential election looming and tensions with Beijing remaining high.