DOGE head Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon on Friday (March 21) sparked widespread speculation, particularly after reports suggested that he would be briefed on possible US military plans in the event of a conflict with China.

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However, both Musk and US officials, including President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, strongly denied those claims.

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Musk's 80-minute meeting with Hegseth

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Musk, who is currently heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump’s administration, held an 80-minute meeting with Hegseth at the Pentagon. “If there’s anything I can do to be helpful, I would like us to have a good outcome here,” Musk said as he left.

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'He’s there for DOGE, not for China'

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Speaking from the White House later in the day, Trump dismissed reports that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had been shown any military strategy. “They made that up because it’s a good story to make up. They’re very dishonest people,” he said, referring to The New York Times, which initially reported on the alleged China briefing.

“I called up Pete [Hegseth] and I said, ‘Is there any truth to that?’ Absolutely not. He’s there for DOGE, not there for China. And if you ever mentioned China, I think he’d walk out of the room,” Trump added.

Earlier, The New York Times cited anonymous sources claiming Musk was to be briefed on secret war plans concerning China. Other outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, published follow-ups citing their unnamed officials. Despite this, both Trump and Hegseth remained firm in their denials.

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'Meeting about innovation, efficiencies and smarter production'

“It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies [and] smarter production. Gonna be great!,” Hegseth posted on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of the meeting.

Musk also took to X to respond, calling the reports “pure propaganda.” He added, “I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information. They will be found.”

Questions about Musk’s involvement in any military plans have raised eyebrows due to his business ties in China. As the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, both of which have US government contracts, his potential access to sensitive information caused concern among critics.

Also read: Trump trashes report claiming Pentagon would brief Musk on potential war with China, calls it ‘Fake News’

'No war plans'

When asked directly about the meeting, Trump said, “You know, Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that, but it was such a fake story.”

Hegseth added, “Elon Musk is a patriot. Elon Musk is an innovator. Elon Musk provides a lot of capabilities our government and our military rely on, and I’m grateful for that.”

He continued, “We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about DOGE, to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations. It was a great informal conversation. The rest of that reporting was fake. There was no war plans. There was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans. That’s not what we were doing at the Pentagon.”

(With inputs from agencies)