President Trump and Elon Musk appear to be cooling their public feud after a Washington speech in which Trump name-checked Musk and after Musk attended a White House dinner. The exchange follows months of tension over Musk’s departure from the Department of Government Efficiency and a clash about parts of Trump’s major domestic bill. The story traces the sharp words from spring through recent signs of thawing, showing politics and policy colliding with personal dynamics.
Their spat blew up earlier this year when Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency and both men traded barbs in public. That back-and-forth included sharp critiques of the legislation that Trump calls the one “big, beautiful bill.” In recent weeks the rhetoric has softened, especially after public appearances put the two within the same orbit again.
At the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump turned to Musk with a mixture of ribbing and praise and said, “You’re so lucky I’m with you, Elon. I’ll tell you. Has he ever thanked me properly?” He joked about letting Musk buy non-electric cars and called a proposed mandate for everyone to have an electric car by 2030 unreasonable. Trump made clear he thinks that mandate was never realistic and suggested Musk himself saw the plan as absurd.
Trump framed the moment around his signature legislative achievement, calling attention to the package he dubbed the one “big, beautiful bill” and highlighting a new tax break for car buyers. The measure created a temporary tax deduction for interest on certain car loans for purchases made between 2025 and 2028, allowing buyers to write off up to $10,000 annually in eligible interest. For Trump and his supporters, that’s a concrete benefit voters can point to, especially in places where car ownership is central to daily life.
After the speech Musk posted on X: “I would like to thank President Trump for all he has done for America and the world.” That public thumbs-up was notable given how sharp things were between them just months earlier. To Republicans watching, a curt note of gratitude signals that policy wins and mutual interests can still pull warring figures back toward collaboration.
The disagreement in May centered on the same bill, with Musk publicly criticizing provisions he said would spike the federal deficit while Trump and his allies pushed back. A flashpoint was the elimination of an electric vehicle tax credit that had helped companies like Musk’s automaker, and that touched raw nerves on both sides. Words got heated, with Musk suggesting Trump owed part of his victory to billionaire support and Trump responding that Musk had gone “CRAZY” over the credit cuts and was “wearing thin.”
The two have since shared public spaces, which softened the optics of their feud without erasing the policy fights beneath. They were seen together at a funeral for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and Musk attended a White House dinner during the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit that included other tech leaders such as Tim Cook and Michael Dell. Neither side issued an immediate formal comment after the recent events, leaving the moment open to interpretation while the political theater continues to play out.
