Donald Trump is “not even thinking about” Elon Musk and may get rid of his showpiece Tesla Model S he said on Friday, signalling a continuation to their explosive and potentially expensive public feud.
The president reasserted his hostility after a spectacular and undignified social media spat with the billionaire, who spent $300m and claims to have helped Trump win the US election.
On Friday in Washington, Trump was asked about reports of a peacemaking phone call with Musk, to which he responded: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?
“I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem, the poor guy's got a problem.”
Shares in Tesla recovered slightly on Friday after dropping 14 per cent and losing $150bn in value following Trump's threat to cut off government contracts with Musk's companies.
Trump is considering either selling the Model S vehicle, priced at around $80,000, or giving it away, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior White House official.
Only a week earlier, Trump praised Musk in the Oval Office as the billionaire wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Since then, Musk has denounced Trump's tax-cut and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination” and his opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.
House speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting 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.
Musk's high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Musk to apologize. “President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon’s behaviour is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,” he said in a statement.
Musk, the world's richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. A prolonged feud could make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year's midterm elections if Musk withholds financial support or other major Silicon Valley business leaders distance themselves from Trump.
Musks’s involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors worried that Musk's attention was too divided.
SpaceX plays a critical role in the U.S. government's space program. When Trump posted that he might cancel Musk's contracts, the billionaire responded he would begin decommissioning SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, the only US spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Later, Musk backed off that threat.
SpaceX alone has been awarded $20.9bn in U.S. government contracts since 2008, according to analysis by BBC Verify.
And in a sign of a possible detente, Musk subsequently wrote: "You're not wrong" in response to billionaire investor Bill Ackman saying Trump and Musk should make peace.
Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and earlier this week called for "all politicians who betrayed the American people" to be fired next year.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
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