Elon Musk’s Friday visit to the Pentagon drew criticism and highlighted his companies’ links to both the federal government and China. The billionaire’s rocket company SpaceX has $22 billion in contracts with the federal government. In China, Musk’s Tesla operates its biggest 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 which underscored 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. The Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump have both denied that Musk visited the Pentagon to receive top-secret information on a possible war with China, as was reported by the Times prior to Musk’s visit Friday.
Before reporters in the Oval Office, Trump noted that Musk would not see top-secret information on a potential war with China, and mentioned that the billionaire’s businesses could play a role.
“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. “Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that.”
Whatever information he received (he replied “Why should I tell you?” to a reporter’s question about the subject of the meeting), the potential high-level nature of his Pentagon visit has drawn scrutiny.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is also a senior member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, wrote in a post that Musk should not have been at the Pentagon.
“Elon Musk is an unelected, self-interested billionaire with no business anywhere near the Pentagon,” Gillibrand wrote in a post on X.
It’s unclear whether other defense companies would file lawsuits based on Musk’s access, but even if they do it’s doubtful they would prevail in court, said Case Western Reserve University law professor Anat Alon-Beck.
“Nobody’s promised equal access to that type of information,” Alon-Beck told Fortune. “We’ve always had people—with the previous administrations as well—having access versus others who don’t. So it’s not just about Musk.”
Still, Musk’s businesses have deep ties to China. His EV maker Tesla has been selling vehicles in the country for a decade and Musk has often spoken positively about the country. In 2023, during an audio interview with U.S. lawmakers on his social media network X, the CEO said he was “pro-China.”
“I have some vested interests in China but honestly, I think China is underrated and I think the people of China are really awesome and there’s a lot of positive energy there,” he said at the time.
Among his “vested interests” and involvements with China are the following:
Tesla’s biggest factory, Gigafactory Shanghai, is located in China. Half of Tesla’s vehicles globally were made there as of last year.
Despite a recent 49% drop in deliveries, China is still one of Tesla’s biggest markets behind the U.S.
The Chinese government has reportedly “sought assurances” that Musk would not sell Starlink in China, the Financial Times reported. Musk last year told companies making Starlink components in Taiwan to move manufacturing to other countries because of “geopolitical concerns.”
In the U.S., SpaceX is a major government contractor with about $22 billion in government contracts, according to its CEO. Its subsidiary, Starlink, helps the Pentagon provide internet access in remote environments.
Tesla, for its part, has received $11.4 billion in regulatory credits from federal and state governments, according to a Washington Post analysis. Cumulatively, Musk’s companies have received $38 billion worth of government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits going back 20 years, the Post reported.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
