US President Donald Trump is not interested in talking with Elon Musk, a White House official said yesterday, signalling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill any time soon.
The White House official said no phone call between Trump and the Tesla CEO was planned for the day. Earlier, a different White House official had said the two were going to talk.
In interviews with several US media outlets, Trump said he was focused on other matters.
“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem, the poor guy’s got a problem,” he told CNN.
Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Musk’s electric cars on the White House lawn, the official said.
Musk, for his part, did not directly address Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending bill that contains much of Trump’s domestic agenda.
On his social-media platform X, Musk amplified remarks made by others that Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. He replied “exactly” to a post by another X user that said Musk had criticised Congress and Trump had responded by criticising Musk personally.
People who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Trump, according to one person who has spoken to Musk’s entourage.
The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance.
Tesla stock rose yesterday, clawing back some losses from Thursday’s session, when it dropped 14 per cent and lost $150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company’s history.
Musk’s high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Musk to apologise.
“President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon’s behaviour is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,” Fishback said in a statement.
Musk, the world’s richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
Trump feted Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk cut only about half of 1pc of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe $2trn from the federal budget.
Since then, Musk has denounced Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination.” His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Trump’s bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Non-partisan analysts say the measure would add $2.4trn in debt over 10 years.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly.
“I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Johnson said on CNBC.
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