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Elon Musk expresses 'regret' over last week’s X posts on Donald Trump after feud: ‘Went too far’
Elon Musk’s ties with Trump soured after he quit the DoGE and slammed the spending bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday expressed “regret” over last week’s posts on US President Donald Trump after a brief feud.
“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote on X.
Earlier, Trump had issued a warning about “serious consequences” for Musk — but that was in response to reports that Musk planned to support candidates running against Trump-backed Republicans in the upcoming midterms.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though he didn’t elaborate on what those consequences might be.
When did the Musk-Trump relationship go bad?
The rift between Donald Trump and Elon Musk began after Musk publicly slammed Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), calling it a “disgusting abomination.” The bill, which proposes sweeping tax cuts, is expected to add around USD 3 trillion (AUD 4.62 trillion) to the US national debt. What followed was one of the most intense and closely watched clashes between two global powerhouses.
The fallout began after Musk stepped down from his advisory role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE). He criticised the OBBB as a “disgusting abomination” that would “burden America [sic] citizens with crushing, unsustainable debt.”
Trump responded by threatening to cancel government subsidies and contracts tied to Musk’s companies. Musk fired back, claiming Trump wouldn’t have won the presidency without his support.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote on X.
“Such ingratitude,” Musk added.
He also reshared posts critical of the president, including one calling for Trump’s impeachment.
Trump replied by saying, “Elon was ‘wearing thin’, I asked him to leave […] and he just went CRAZY!”
The biggest barb came from Musk, who alleged that the US President's name was in the files related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that was the reason for them not being made public, as Trump had promised during the campaign.
“Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk had said in a X post. However, the post has been deleted.
Trump blamed Musk’s reaction on the administration’s move to end tax credits for electric vehicles.
In a May 29 CBS interview, Musk voiced frustration over the bill, saying, “I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
Upon Musk’s exit, Trump remarked, “Elon's really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth, I think, I have a feeling.”
