Elon Musk meets with Pete Hegseth at Pentagon to discuss 'efficiencies'

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with billionaire Elon Musk at the Pentagon Friday to discuss "innovation, efficiencies & smarter production," he said.

Musk, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – which has played an integral role in the administration’s push to dramatically cut the size of the government. Earlier in the week, a senior defense official told reporters that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department.

Musk meets with Hegseth at Pentagon

What they're saying:

Musk said he's ready to do "anything that can be helpful," but he refused to answer questions as to whether he received a classified briefing on China as part of the visit, according to a CNN video of Musk and Hegseth exiting the meeting. 

The backstory:

A New York Times report published late Thursday said that the Pentagon planned to brief Musk on Friday about the U.S. military’s plan for any war that could potentially break out with China. The story cited anonymous U.S. officials. A planned meeting at the Pentagon was confirmed by both Pentagon officials and Trump, although they denied any discussion involving a briefing on a potential war with China.

 In a post on Musk's X platform, Hegseth emphasized that "this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.' It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!"

Separately, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that "China will not even be mentioned or discussed." "How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies," he added. "Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!"

For his part, Musk called the New York Times "pure propaganda" and said he looks "forward to the prosecution of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT."

Big picture view:

Musk has faced intense blowback from some lawmakers and voters for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs, although Trump heavily campaigned on the idea and his supporters have hailed it. Many have also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest as he runs SpaceX, Tesla and other large companies with big federal contracts.

FILE - US President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, and Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Feb. 26, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hegseth, Trump announce F-47 fighter jet contract

Following the meeting between Musk and Hegseth, Hegseth joined Trump at the White House to announce that Boeing will build the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force, a plane the Pentagon says will have stealth and penetration capabilities that far exceed those of its current fleet.

RELATED: Boeing to build F-47, Air Force's future fighter jet, Trump says

The F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, is a manned jet that will serve as quarterback to a fleet of future drone aircraft designed to be able to penetrate the air defenses of China and any other potential foes. The initial contract to proceed with production on a version for the Air Force version is worth an estimated $20 billion.

Hegseth said the future fleet "sends a very clear, direct message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere."