Defense Industry Magnate Musk Accepts Hegseth's Invitation for Pentagon Meeting
Friday Visit of Tech Mogul Elon Musk to Pentagon
Prepare for the arrival of Elon Musk at the Pentagon this coming Friday. The tech titan has received an invite from Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the Defense Department's announcement late Thursday night.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon spokesperson, shared the good news with CNN, stating, "The Defense Department is stoked to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and his visit is just that – a visit."
Earlier Thursday, reports by The New York Times seeped out, suggesting Elon would be briefed on the US military's top-secret plan for any potential war with China. But this info was squashed by Elon, Secretary Hegseth, and former President Donald Trump, who claimed the meeting had nothing to do with China war plans.
The Pentagon's desire to collaborate with Elon for innovation, efficiencies, and smarter production through Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative[1] may have prompted his invite. Last month, Hegseth hinted that the DoD would lean on DOGE to find fraud, waste, and abuse within the largest discretionary budget in the federal government[1].
CNN is awaiting comments from the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency regarding this surprising development.
Hegseth's recent strategic guidance memo, circulated to Pentagon leaders earlier this month, calls for a shifted focus and resources towards a possible conflict with China but provides few details on what this scenario might look like[1].
War plans are usually prepared at varying levels of classification. Top-secret plans may contain sensitive information, such as the use of human and technical assets[1]. It remains unclear which version of the briefing Elon will be presented.
Elon has been reported to possess a top-secret security clearance and is serving in the Trump administration as a special government employee. Individuals with adequate security clearances still require "need to know" before accessing specific information, according to the US government's classified handling procedures[1].
As of October 2024, the US Space Force awarded $733 million in launch contracts to Elon's SpaceX[1]. Despite the obvious business ties, no confirmation or details on top-secret military plans related to China have been officially shared.
Zachary Cohen of CNN contributed to this report
[1] - Source: The New York Times & internal Defense Department communication.
Elon Musk's visit to the Pentagon on Friday may involve discussions about potential collaborations for innovation, efficiencies, and smarter production, as part of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative. CNN is awaiting comments from the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency regarding this. It is still undetermined whether the briefings Elon Musk will receive will include the US military's top-secret plan for any potential war with China, though earlier reports suggested as much.
