Why the Pentagon scuttled its briefing of Musk on war plans

Musk's planned visit to a secure room in the Pentagon was called off after The New York Times published its article on the visit, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

On Friday morning, Trump denied that the briefing had been planned. But he also made clear that he thought Musk should not have access to such war plans.

«Certainly, you wouldn't show it to a businessman who is helping us so much,» Trump said. He added, «Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible perhaps to that.»

I called Eric Schmitt, a Times national security reporter, who kindly stepped into one of the few Pentagon hallways where you can actually get cell service, and asked him to bring us up to speed.

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Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Q: Let's start at the beginning. What did you learn Thursday about what was originally planned?
A: The Pentagon was scheduled to give a briefing to Musk on Friday morning on the classified war plan for China. We were told it was going to be in this secure conference room called the Tank, which is typically where you'll have very high-level military briefings with members of the Joint Chiefs or senior commanders. The idea that a civilian like Elon Musk, who's not in the chain of command, would be getting any briefing in the Tank — much less on highly sensitive war plans for China — was certainly unusual, and it was alarming to some people.

Q: The administration has pushed back on your reporting. But you and the rest of the team are standing by the story.
A: We're absolutely sure this is what was scheduled. There were a couple of things that gave us confidence, besides our sourcing being very strong. If Musk were really coming to the Pentagon for a more