Elon Musk frozen out of Pentagon's planning for war with China over fears about his financial ties to Beijing

Donald Trump admitted that potential conflicts of interest prevent him from showing Elon Musk the Pentagon's plans for a hypothetical war with China.

The president disputed claims by the 'fake news' that Musk was being allowed a glimpse at plans for a hypothetical battle ahead of the 'First Buddy' being invited to the Pentagon on Friday.

The head of the Department of Government Efficiency even suggested he was going to hunt down the 'leakers' who suggested he was getting a look at top secret plans. 

Trump held a press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Friday where he was asked why Musk wouldn't just be shown such information. 

'Certainly, you wouldn't show it to a businessman who is helping us so much, paying a big price for helping us cut costs... but Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible to that.'

He ultimately said that Musk's visit was to do with finding potential 'waste, fraud and abuse' at the Penatgon.

Trump also suggested he wants as few people as possible to see plans for a war he doesn't want to ever happen. 

'I don't want to show it to anybody, you're talking about a potential war with China. I deal with these people all the time. I don't want anybody seeing potential war with China.' 

Hegseth suggested that the story only existed to 'undermine the relationship we have with Elon Musk.' 

Both Trump and Hegseth referred to Musk as a 'patriot' and someone making great sacrifices for the country.  

Access to the closely guarded military plan would mark an sharp expansion of Musk's role as a Trump adviser who has spearheaded efforts to cut U.S. government spending.

It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX has business interests in China and with the Pentagon.

The White House has previously said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.

Washington and Beijing have had tense relations for years over differences ranging from access to technology, trade tariffs and cybersecurity to TikTok, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. 

Musk, by contrast, often bent over backwards to make nice with China and its authoritarian regime as it is a huge and growing car market.

About 22.5 per cent of Tesla revenue comes from sales in China, which is tipped to soon be the biggest buyers of electric cars.

Musk routinely complies with Chinese Communist Party demands, including to make a change to Tesla cars in 2021.

He also shut down his factory for four days in 2022 during a Covid outbreak when he was told to, despite calling California health authorities 'fascists' for making the same order in 2020.

Tariffs on China are also not in Musk's best interests and he railed against ones President Joe Biden put on in 2024.

'Neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs. Things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good,' he said at a tech conference in Paris.

'Tesla competes quite well in the market in China with no tariffs and no deferential support. I'm in favor of no tariffs.'

Musk has faced intense blowback from some lawmakers and voters for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs, although Trump's supporters have hailed it.

A senior defense official told reporters Tuesday that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department . 

Musk's DOGE has already slashed staffing at several federal agencies, cut federal spending and in an unprecedented move emailed federal employees asking 'what they got done last week'. 

Trump and Musk have argued that the government is wasteful and bloated. DOGE claims it has saved $105 billion in cuts, but it has only publicly documented a fraction of those savings, and its accounting has been plagued by errors.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has led the charge to slash the federal workforce under the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) but its chief spokesperson appears to be completely off-message.   

DOGE has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks for its chaotic handling of layoffs, particularly its firing of key federal employees only to attempt to rehire them later.

Among those affected were workers responsible for maintaining nuclear weapons sites across the US, a move that has raised serious national security concerns and Musk and his allies are now face mounting pressure to reassess their approach.

Some terminations are part of the Education Department's 'final mission,' alluding to Trump's vow to eliminate the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts.

The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

Trump officially signed an executive order to heavily downsize the Department of Education Thursday.  

Similar closures served as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the US Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects Americans against unscrupulous lenders.

So far, DOGE has cut more than 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian bureaucracy, frozen most foreign aid and canceled thousands of programs and contracts, despite dozens of lawsuits challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE's blunt approach has frustrated several White House officials and Republican lawmakers, some of whom have confronted angry constituents at town halls. 

Trump told department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing, his first notable public move to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All US government agencies have been ordered to come up with large-scale layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next phase of Trump's cost-cutting campaign.

Several agencies have offered employees payments to retire early to fulfill Trump's demand.

Affected Education Department employees will be placed on administrative leave starting on March 21, the department said.

Other agencies have offered lump-sum payments of up to $25,000 before tax to workers who agree to leave their jobs. 

Among these are the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, including its Food and Drug Administration.