Reports emerged suggesting Elon Musk's attendance at a high-level China briefing, granting him access to classified US information. President Trump immediately denounced these reports as "fake news" and "completely untrue." The New York Times was the initial source of the story. This was followed by Axios reporting on unease within the White House about Musk's considerable influence on Trump's inner circle.
Subsequent reports indicated that Musk would be stepping back from his prominent role in the administration. However, Vice President JD Vance later clarified that Musk would retain a close advisory role, remaining as a "friend and adviser" to the president.
While Musk did attend a briefing at the Pentagon with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Axios reported that China was not discussed. President Trump nevertheless emphasized Musk's potential susceptibility to his business ties with China, while reiterating that the original briefing reports were fabricated.
Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to indicate that he expected the prosecution of those responsible for leaking the information to the New York Times.