Pentagon briefing controversy: Elon Musk's access to war plans
The Pentagon is set to inform Elon Musk on Friday about the U.S. military's plan regarding a potential war with China. Granting him access to the most closely guarded military secrets would expand his role as an advisor to President Donald Trump, reports "The New York Times".
"Providing Mr. Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets would be a dramatic expansion of his already extensive role as an advisor to Mr. Trump and leader of his effort to slash spending and purge the government of people and policies they oppose," states the "NYT".
According to the newspaper, it would also highlight issues surrounding Musk's conflicts of interest, as he is involved throughout the federal bureaucracy while still running companies that are major government contractors. Regarding access to classified data, the "NYT" points out that Musk, a billionaire and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is a leading Pentagon contractor and has extensive financial interests in China.
"Pentagon war plans, known in military jargon as O-plans or operational plans, are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets. If a foreign country were to learn how the United States planned to fight a war against them, it could reinforce its defenses and address its weaknesses, making the plans far less likely to succeed," argues the newspaper.
Citing officials, it specifies that the top-secret briefing on the war plan with China contains about 20 to 30 slides that depict how the U.S. would conduct a battle in the conflict. The plan includes indications and warnings about threats from Beijing, identifying which Chinese targets to strike and when, and which decisions will be presented to Trump for consideration.
"Elon Musk is a patriot"
The "NYT" also claims that the Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, did not respond to an email request for comment on Musk's briefing. After the article was published in the newspaper on Thursday evening, he made a brief statement: "The Defense Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting."
As added by the newspaper, an hour later, Parnell posted a message on the social media platform X: "The Defence Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting."
