Musk, China, & Trump — Where Is This Going To Lead?

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There was some weird reporting today, or a weird story, but no matter what the truth of it is, it brings up some really interesting points. First of all, this is what’s been reported and claimed:

• Defense officials reportedly confirmed to NBC News early on Friday that Elon Musk was going to be meeting at the Pentagon today, and included in the discussions would be the matter of potential war with China.
• Xochitl Hinojosa, a previous spokesperson for former Attorney General Eric Holder, commented that career officials must have shared this information with the media because of concern about what was going to be shared. “What is happening here, and everyone needs to be scared, is Pentagon officials are sounding the alarm,” Hinojosa told CNN. “This doesn’t just happen on its own. This has happened because career officials in the Pentagon are terrified. And they believe there is a conflict of interest. That is why it is in the New York Times. Because I am sure they took it to the senior most people within the White House and within the Pentagon and they didn’t do anything about it.”
• Donald Trump responded that the meeting at the Pentagon, which ended up lasting about an hour, wouldn’t include anything on China. “They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous? China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night.
• On the topic of a potential war plan with China, “I don’t want to show it to anybody. You know you’re talking about a potential war with China,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “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.”
• “He’s there for DOGE, not there for China, and if you ever mentioned China, I think he’d walk out of the room,” Trump also noted.
• Musk said that he looks “forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.” He added, “They will be found.”

Who knows what the meeting actually included? I’m inclined to believe China wasn’t discussed, and certainly not a China war plan, for the reasons Trump mentions. I know — I don’t recall the last time I agreed with Trump on anything, but the points here are common sense. However, given how much he typically says the opposite of the truth, who knows?

The fact of the matter is that any significant China policies could massively affect Tesla (and thus Elon), and a potential war with China definitely would. Even more so if Xi Jinping sees Musk as coordinating with Trump on this. Given how close Musk has become with Trump, one would assume Trump would give Musk a heads-up on any such matters.

No matter what was said or not said, though, the big question is what is actually going to happen between the US and China. That could significantly affect the US economy, and repercussions for Tesla — in the US and in China — could be massive. Even Tesla’s US-sold cars rely on Chinese-made supplies, but probably much more seriously, Tesla’s business in China is already tenuous — the competition seems to be innovating much more quickly and is starting to eat into Tesla’s rather healthy market share there. One word from Xi Jinping and Tesla sales could really crash in China. Given that China was Tesla’s biggest market in 2024, accounting for more than a third of the company’s sales, that’s a very, very big deal.

Who knows what is to come? But this is a topic we’ll be keeping an eye on.