Elon Musk to visit CIA days after Pentagon trip's ‘secret war plan’ controversy
According to a report by The New York Times, Musk was set to receive a briefing on classified war plans concerning China at Pentagon, a claim that was denied.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is the top adviser to US President Donald Trump, will be at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Monday to discuss government efficiency with director John Ratcliffe, a visit that comes days after his Pentagon trip which was surrounded by questions.
The CIA has fired several recent hires amid the Donald Trump administration's massive federal workforce reductions, which are being overseen by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk's Pentagon meet
Elon Musk recently met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Department of Defense, where his companies hold several contracts.
According to a report by The New York Times, Elon Musk was set to receive a briefing on classified war plans concerning China, a claim that was later denied by Donald Trump and others.
Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, whose companies hold numerous Defense Department contracts, took to social media before the Pentagon meeting to denounce the New York Times report.
Also Read | 'No China war plans': Pentagon slams ‘false’ NYT report after unprecedented meet with Elon Musk
Elon Musk called the story “pure propaganda” and vowed to take legal action against those responsible for leaking what he described as "maliciously false information." “I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found,” Elon Musk wrote on X.
However, amid NYT report's claims, a planned session of Elon Musk with the joint chiefs of staff in the Pentagon’s highly secure "The Tank" meeting room was reportedly cancelled.
US President Donald Trump, while standing alongside Hegseth, stated that Elon Musk’s ties to China could present a security risk if sensitive military information were shared with him.
At the White House after the meeting, Donald Trump said he did not want to show the United States' plans for a potential war with China to anybody and hinted at Musk's potential conflict of interest.
"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," Reuters quoted Donald Trump said. "Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that," Trump said.
