Trump says ‘susceptible’ Musk shouldn’t be allowed to see top secret plans for war with China

President Donald Trump says that Elon Musk should not be allowed to see top secret US plans for any war with China, in a rare admission that his billionaire ally’s business links raised potential conflicts of interest.

Trump strongly denies media reports that the world’s richest man, who is now leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will receive a classified Pentagon briefing on its war strategy.

Tesla and Space X boss Musk has major business interests in China but also has huge US defense contracts, while his status as an unelected advisor to Trump has raised concerns about his influence.

“I don’t want to show it to anybody. You’re talking about a potential war with China,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.

“Certainly you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much… Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that.”

Trump, who was unveiling a contract for Boeing to build the next-generation F-47 fighter jet, described Musk as a “patriot” and hailed his efforts to slash back the US federal government, including the Defense Department.

Musk was at the Pentagon today, but Trump attacked reports, first published in the New York Times, about the visit.

“They really are the enemy of the people,” Trump says of the Times, which reported Musk was to receive a briefing in a secure room dubbed “The Tank” on maritime tactics and targeting plans.

The paper said the briefing was called off after it was publicized.