Elon Musk had a defensive schoolyard retort for a reporter who asked him what he discussed with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a controversial meeting at the Pentagon Friday.
“Why should I tell you?” the world’s richest man, now a White House adviser, fired back after spending 90 minutes in the Pentagon, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The controversy around Musk’s visit erupted after The New York Times reported Thursday night that the DOGE head was set to be briefed on a secret plan for how to fight a potential war with China.
President Donald Trump, Musk, and Hegseth all vocally denied that the conversation would focus on that topic. However, the Journal independently confirmed the Times' report on the plans for the meeting.
Based on unnamed military officials, the paper reported that Musk and Hegseth ended up having a unclassified conversation after the bombshell story altered the plans. It still touched on China, among other issues, though.
Musk—who owns three large companies—has significant business interests in China. That he would discuss the country with the secretary of defense in any capacity highlights his potential conflicts of interest as a Trump operative.
The Journal also reported that Musk was set to be briefed on the China war plan because he had asked for the information, based on one inside source. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on the Journal‘s reporting on what was discussed.
As he shook hands with Hegseth outside the Pentagon after the meeting, Musk told the secretary, “If there’s anything I can do to be helpful, I’d like to see you.”
“It’s always a great meeting,” he told reporters as he left. “I’ve been here before, you know.”
Before the meeting, Musk disparaged the Times report as “pure propaganda.”
“I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT,” he added in his post on X. “They will be found.”
Asked for comment on the Journal‘s report, the White House directed the Daily Beast to Trump’s Oval Office conversation alongside Hegseth later on Friday, during which both men reiterated their denial of the Times story
“I don’t want to show [the China war plan] to anybody. You know, you’re talking about a potential war with China,” said Trump, appearing at the televised conversation alongside Hegseth. “I don’t want to show that to anybody. But certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much.”
Trump acknowledged Musk’s “business interests,” saying that they could make him “susceptible.” He said again, however, that the report was “such a fake story.”
Standing over the president, Hegseth shared his belief that the story was “meant to sort of undermine whatever relationship the Pentagon has with Elon Musk.”
“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,” Hegseth said. “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.”
He did not say, as the Journal reported, that the conversation still touched on China.
Trump couldn’t help but ridicule the Times some more, calling it “garbage” and a “failing newspaper.”
“They really are the enemy of the people,” the president said. “We do need honest journalism. We’ve made such big strides over the last two months. But we just need honest journalism, and we don’t have it.”
