Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon on Friday has drawn criticism and highlighted his companies’ connections to both the federal government and China. Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has $22 billion in contracts with the federal government. In China, Musk’s Tesla operates its largest factory, Gigafactory Shanghai, which as of last year produced about half of all Tesla vehicles.
Elon Musk visited the Pentagon Friday for a briefing on China, underscoring the billionaire’s steadily growing influence in the Trump administration as well as his businesses’ deep ties to both the federal government and China.
Musk was originally meant to receive a briefing on top-secret information related to a potential war with China, The New York Times reported, although defense officials later said he would receive an unclassified briefing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump both denied that Musk visited the Pentagon to receive top-secret information on a possible war with China. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, mentioned that Musk would not see top-secret information on a potential war with China.
“We don’t want to have a potential war with China, but I can tell you if we did, we’re very well-equipped to handle it, but I don’t want to show that to anybody but certainly you wouldn’t show it to a businessman,” Trump said.
Musk, who serves as a special government employee under Trump, also has his own business interests in China. His largest Tesla factory is located there, and it produces about half of Tesla’s vehicles.