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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Matt Watts

Donald Trump hits back in Elon Musk feud saying Space X boss 'out of his mind' and considers selling Tesla

Donald Trump hit back in his explosive feud with Elon Musk on Friday saying he is not interested in talking with his former ally who had “lost his mind”.

"I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem, the poor guy's got a problem," Trump told CNN on Friday morning.

ABC News asked him about reports he had a call scheduled with Musk for later in the day.

"You mean the man who has lost his mind?", the President replied, saying he was "not particularly" interested in talking to him right now.

He said Musk wants to talk to him, but he's not ready to talk to the Tesla boss, and White House officials confirmed there was no planned call on Friday between the men to try and diffuse their public war of words.

Trump is considering selling his Tesla in response to the boss of the electric car giant’s attacks , CBS News reported citing a senior White House official.

The red car, which he purchased when he was trying to help Elon Musk promote his company, has been parked for weeks at the White House, it reported.

Meanwhile Musk appeared to double down on his claim, without presenting evidence, that the Preisdent is included in the “Epstein files” as he shared footage on his X platform of Trump with the disgraced former financier.

In an explosive earlier post on Thursday the billionaire said: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”

The “Epstein files” is a reference to Justice Department records concerning the late convicted sex offender who allegedly procured underage girls for sex for a string of famous names.

Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.

The files have recently been brought to public attention after the Trump administration pledged to release them for public viewing to debunk conspiracy theorists over his death.

But an initial release of information in February, the full release was delayed, with Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, stating in May that there is no “specific timeline” for their publication.

Trump is yet to respond directly to Musk’s claims

Trump, the world's most powerful leader, and Musk, the world's richest man, battled openly on Thursday in an extraordinary day of hostilities - largely over social media - that marked a stark end to a close alliance.

Shares in Musk's Tesla rose 4.5% when markets opened on Friday. In Thursday's session, the stock dived 14% and lost about $150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the electric vehicle maker's history.

Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's presidential campaign and was then brought to the White House to head up a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a spectacular public falling out (REUTERS)

The falling-out began brewing days ago when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's tax-cut and spending bill. The feud is complicating efforts to pass the bill, which is the president's main demand of the Republican-controlled Congress.

Musk has denounced the package, which contains most of Trump's domestic priorities, as a "disgusting abomination" that would add too much to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt.

The package narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Nonpartisan analysts say it would add $2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years.

Trump had initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, but broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was "very disappointed" in Musk.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," he said.

The pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms: Trump's Truth Social and Musk's X.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," wrote Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing Trump and other Republicans in last year's election.

Musk also asserted that Trump's signature import tariffs would push the U.S. into a recession and responded "Yes" to a post on X saying Trump should be impeached. That would be highly unlikely given Trump's Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Trump, for his part, suggested he would terminate government contracts with Musk's businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.

Musk, whose space business plays a critical role in the U.S. government's space program, responded that he would begin decommissioning SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is the only U.S. spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. He backed off the threat later in the day.

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.

A prolonged feud between the pair 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.

Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and on Tuesday he called for "all politicians who betrayed the American people" to be fired next year.

His involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk's attention was too divided.

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