President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, are publicly at odds—this spat came to light on Thursday, just days after a White House farewell event for Musk where his achievements were acknowledged.
Musk, who ended his role as a special government employee on May 30, has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Trump’s extensive tax and spending initiative, labeling it “nasty hatred” because of its implications for the federal deficit.
During a briefing at the Oval Office, Trump expressed his disapproval of Musk’s criticisms, especially regarding the removal of the electric vehicle tax credit which benefits companies like Tesla. Trump remarked that he felt let down since Musk seemed to understand the bill’s nuances better than many others present. “He had no issues with it before; things just changed when he found out we were scaling back EV mandates,” Trump said while meeting with German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz.
Trump added, “Elon has lost it completely,” indicating disinterest in engaging Musk further despite media speculation about a possible conversation between them.
Musk responded swiftly on social media, labeling Trump’s comments as riddled with “snarky pork” and denied claims that he was given a “nothing” measure. Their back-and-forth has continued, with Musk suggesting Trump wouldn’t have secured the 2024 election without his support, while Trump accused Musk of making irrational decisions about EV credits.
In a discussion about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Prime Minister Merz informed Trump that the U.S. is positioned to help bring about a resolution. However, Trump seemed to think it might be best to allow the conflict to persist for a bit longer, likening it to two kids fighting in a park. “Sometimes it’s better to let them fight for a while before intervening,” he explained.
On another front, Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping to explore trade negotiations. Trump characterized their conversation, which lasted about ninety minutes, as highly productive, concluding with a tentative agreement to ease tariffs. This comes after Trump’s previous criticism of China for trade infractions and their failure to uphold earlier agreements.
The discussions culminated in a plan for mutual tariff reductions: the U.S. will reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China will lower tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
