‘With Elon and DOGE, we guarantee US army stays world’s strongest power’: Hegseth on Musk’s Pentagon go to – The Occasions of India

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth met with tech large and division of presidency effectivity (DOGE) head Elon Musk on the Pentagon to debate methods to enhance innovation, effectivity, and manufacturing within the army.
After the assembly, Hegseth known as Musk a “patriot” and highlighted their shared objective of strengthening the US army.
He later shared on social media, “Wonderful go to with Elon Musk on the Pentagon in the present day. He’s a patriot, and I stay up for persevering with our work collectively. With Elon and Doge, we’re making certain our army continues to be the best preventing power the world has ever identified.”

Musk’s go to to the Pentagon sparked controversy after some US media experiences prompt he would obtain a briefing on potential warfare methods towards China. Nevertheless, these claims have been dismissed by each US President Donald Trump and Hegseth, with Trump calling the experiences “absurd” and “fully unfaithful.”
“China won’t even be talked about or mentioned,” Trump mentioned, accusing The New York Occasions of fabricating the story. Musk, for his half, demanded the prosecution of officers he alleged had leaked “maliciously false data” to the media.
The assembly, which lasted simply over an hour, lined numerous subjects associated to army development.
Hegseth dismissed the China warfare claims, stating, “That is NOT a gathering about ‘prime secret China warfare plans.’ It’s an off-the-cuff dialogue on innovation, efficiencies, and smarter manufacturing.”
Musk’s enterprise ties to China, together with Tesla’s Shanghai services and SpaceX’s Pentagon contracts, have raised issues in some circles. Trump acknowledged these issues, saying, “You wouldn’t share that with a businessman.” Nevertheless, he additionally clarified that Musk was there for Doge reasonably than China.
“He’s there for Doge, not China — and if you happen to introduced up China, I feel he’d go away the room,” Trump advised reporters within the Oval Workplace.
Relating to Friday’s assembly, the tech mogul stored his response transient, telling reporters, “It’s all the time an amazing assembly.” Musk has beforehand visited the Pentagon, along with his final recorded go to in 2016 when he met then-defence secretary Ash Carter.