For those already worried about Elon Musk's closeness to American politics and position at the side of President Donald Trump, reports that he's going to be briefed on a 'secret plan' on how to deal with China in the event of war are only going to heighten those complaints.
Even though Elon Musk's designation as a 'special government employee' means he has limited powers, he's been accused of getting his feet under the presidential desk at the White House ever since he stepped up as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
This became even more apparent when Musk waded into the tense situation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war and branded Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky 'evil'.
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With President Trump and Russia both issuing warnings about a potential World War III, there's a reason the Doomsday Clock has nudged closer to midnight than ever before.
Now, The New York Times claims there are serious talks underway about supposed global conflicts, with the world's richest man set to be briefed by the Pentagon about China.
Two US officials said that Musk will be told about the military's plan in case of war, while another said the proposed meeting will be centered around China. A fourth claimed that Musk will be attending the Pentagon on March 21, but offered no other details.
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Hours after the NYT's article went live, Trump attempted to debunk some of the rumors as he took to Truth Social to state: "China will not even be mentioned or discussed."
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, one official claimed Musk was being given a briefing because he asked for one, and that while he has security clearance, he isn't in the military chain of command or thought to be a military advisor to the POTUS.
Sean Parnell, the chief Defense Department spokesman, told the NYT: "The Defense Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary [Pete] Hegseth and is just visiting." A White House spokesperson didn't respond to their request for comment.
In a follow-up post on X, Hegseth said reports about Musk being shown top secret plans was 'fake news', saying it's "an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production."
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Although it's unclear whether the briefing will go ahead, there are obvious concerns about allowing Musk access to some of the USA's most important military secrets.
As the outlet notes, this would be "a dramatic expansion of his already extensive role as an adviser to Mr. Trump," saying that Musk has been tasked with 'purging' the government of "people and policies they oppose."
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Due to Musk's business interests in China through Tesla and its massive Gigafactory in Shanghai, there are also questions about whether he should be privy to anything involving a potential war, let alone one with China.
Still, it seems the POTUS and Hegesth are presenting a united front that claims the media is hyping this up as something more than it should be.
While most of the world's eyes appear to be on Russia, could the USA be looking at a different corner of the world for the catalyst that could trigger a potential World War III?