Trump’s close ally and donor turned into his most scathing critic. Now, he’s rowing back
Elon Musk has said he regrets his scathing comments about Donald Trump, just six days after their explosive breakup.
“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week,” he said in a post on X on Wednesday morning. “They went too far.”
The tech billionaire spent $250m (£185m) on Trump’s election campaign and became one of the US President’s closest advisers, heading up a new Government department created specifically for him designed to cut back spending.
But the relationship spectacularly imploded last week, when Musk made a series of allegations about Trump’s relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and attacked Trump’s landmark spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
Trump has not yet responded to Musk’s row-back.
From adviser and donor to scathing critic – in days
Cracks began to show in late May, when Musk was still in post at the White House and said he was “disappointed” in the spending bill.
Musk left his position on 31 May, saying it was “scheduled” because he was limited to a 130-day appointment as a “special government employee”.
The parting was amicable, with Trump presenting Musk a gold key to the White House as a leaving present during a farewell press conference in the Oval Office.
Musk said he looked forward to “continuing to be a friend and adviser to the President”.
But on 3 June, Musk launched a wave of strongly worded attacks on the spending bill, saying “Shame on those who voted for it”.
The feud erupted two days later when Musk claimed that Trump would have lost the election without his support and had shown “such ingratitude”.
Musk suggested the creation of a new political party which “actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle”.
In response, Trump threatened to cancel Musk’s lucrative contracts with the US Government, saying the tech billionaire has gone “crazy” and was “wearing thin”.
Musk then made a bombshell allegation about Trump’s relationship with Epstein, who was convicted of sex trafficking and died in jail in 2019, saying that Trump is “in the Epstein files” and this is why they haven’t been released to the public.
Musk did not provide any evidence for his claim.
In February, the US attorney general pledged to release all of the information the government has on Epstein, known as the “Epstein files”.
However, “Phase One” of the release of documents contained only phone-book contacts and flight logs, most of which have been available since 2015. No date has been set for releasing the remaining files.
Musk reposted videos of Epstein and Trump together and shared a screenshot from a magazine interview in which Trump appears to call Epstein a “terrific guy”.
He later shared a post calling for Trump to be impeached, and claimed that Trump’s tariffs “will cause a recession in the second half of this year”.
Tesla suffering from Musk-Trump feud
Shareholders at Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, will be hopeful that the olive branch brings some stability to their stock price.
As the feud between Musk and Trump erupted in public view, Tesla’s shares suffered a record-breaking single-day collapse, plunging 14 per cent.
Musk, who remains the automotive group’s largest shareholder, sustained a personal hit to his $400bn (£296bn) fortune of almost $9bn (£6.6bn).
It was the latest headache in a tumultuous year for the electric vehicle firm.
Tesla showrooms have seen protests over Musk’s relationship with Trump, while multiple cars have been set alight in the US.
Musk has been open that Tesla may also be hit by the impact of Trump’s tariff policy, which he criticised during their spat.
Earlier this year, during more peaceful relations between the pair, Trump staged a stunt for the firm on the White House lawn, posing with Tesla vehicles, calling them “beautiful” and pledging to “a brand-new Tesla tomorrow morning”.
