Media: Musk threatens Pentagon over alleged China war briefing leak

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, has threatened Pentagon employees who allegedly leaked information regarding his planned briefing on potential U.S. military plans for a conflict with China.

The story, first published by the New York Times on March 20 evening (U.S. time), cited anonymous U.S. officials who claimed the Pentagon was set to brief Musk on March 21 about the U.S. military’s strategy in the event of a war with China, Caliber.Az reports, citing Politico.

Following the publication of the report, Pentagon officials and President Donald Trump confirmed the meeting but denied that any discussions would involve military plans concerning China. “China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”

Musk reposted Trump’s comments on X and slammed the New York Times as “pure propaganda.” He further issued a warning, saying, “I look forward to the prosecution of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found.”

The initial report by The New York Times has raised concerns about Musk’s increasing influence within the U.S. government, with critics highlighting potential conflicts of interest.

As CEO of SpaceX, a major government contractor, and with business dealings in China, Musk’s expanding role in U.S. military matters has raised alarms about impartiality and transparency.

Note that, the Pentagon leak refers to a significant data breach in 2023 where highly classified U.S. government documents, including sensitive military intelligence, were leaked online. 

The documents revealed details about U.S. intelligence assessments regarding various geopolitical situations, including the war in Ukraine, China's military activities, and other international security matters. The leak exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. intelligence-gathering and raised concerns about the security of classified information.

The leak was discovered when several documents appeared on social media platforms, sparking a massive investigation by U.S. authorities. The leak is believed to have been committed by a member of the U.S. military or someone with access to military intelligence. The consequences of the breach included diplomatic tensions and security risks for U.S. allies.

By Aghakazim Guliyev