One of the most unexpected and indeed fascinating aspects of President Donald Trump's second term in office has been the close personal and professional relationship he has developed with tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Despite their strong bond, however, Axios reports that Trump himself intervened to block Musk's planned attendance at a recent Pentagon briefing in which China was to be a prime topic of discussion, doing so due to concerns about conflicts of interest.

Details of briefing leaked

It was back in March that the New York Times issued a report claiming that Musk was poised to attend a Pentagon briefing on the subject of military plans related to a potential future war with China.

Late into the evening of the day the report emerged, Trump himself posted on his Truth Social network in an effort to debunk the story told by the Times.

Trump wrote, “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. How disgraceful is it that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!.”

Axios asserts that by the time Trump's Truth Social post was published, the topic of the aforementioned Pentagon meeting -- which Musk did attend -- had been notably altered.

Interestingly, the conflicting accounts of the planned meeting came to the forefront again this week when it was revealed that Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was placed on administrative leave and escorted from the Pentagon amid a probe into unauthorized disclosures, as CBS News reported.

Presidential concerns raised

According to the Daily Mail, insiders have suggested that Trump was angered upon learning that Musk was set to participate in the originally planned Pentagon briefing.

The president was said to be so concerned about his potential inclusion that he personally intervened to prevent the scenario from taking place.

Axios indicated that Trump fumed, “What the f**k is Elon doing there? Make sure he doesn't go,” further expressing concerns about the Tesla billionaire's extensive business interests in China and the conflict of interest his presence would involve.

Speaking to the press later, Trump declared of the briefing kerfuffle, “I certainly wouldn't want, you know -- Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that. But it was such a fake story.”

The White House official who spoke to Axios observed, “POTUS still very much loves Elon, but there are some red lines. Elon has a lot of business in China, and he has good relations there, and this briefing just wasn't the right thing.”

Bromance continues

Reports of the tension between Trump and Musk over the briefing took hold fairly quickly, but the latter took to his X platform in an effort to tamp down the story by saying, “I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to the NYT. They will be found.”

Trump, for his part, appears to harbor no hard feelings over the situation, making a high-profile appearance with Musk and his young son -- known as X for short -- at UFC 341 in Miami on Saturday suggesting that the powerful pair are still as tight as ever.