President Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met for the first time in months at conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk's memorial in Glendale, Arizona, leading to speculation of a possible reconciliation.
Elon Musk Meets Donald Trump
The pair reunited at Kirk's memorial service held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sunday. Trump and Musk can be seen shaking hands and engaging in conversation as well as exchanging smiles, as seen in the video shared by Fox News. The memorial was also attended by other prominent figures, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, among others.
The official White House handle on the social media platform X also shared a picture of the pair, leading to further speculation about the pair setting their differences aside.
Elon Musk's History With The Trump Camp
Musk's close relationship with the Trump camp began during the run-up to last year's Presidential Election when the billionaire donated upwards of $250 million to the campaign, extending his support to Trump over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Following Trump's victory, Musk also became a part of the administration, heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the administration said was aimed at cutting excess federal spending. The department cut several thousand jobs within the government.
However, disagreements between the pair arose over the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,' which also included a series of anti-EV decisions taken by Trump, like the ending of the $7,500 Federal EV Credit. Musk and Trump had a public falling out, where the former attacked Trump over his alleged close ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, among other things.
Musk also threatened to found a new political party as well as withdraw SpaceX from NASA's missions. Eventually, Musk left the administration and had recently said that the government was "unfixable" in a public appearance.
A Possible Reconciliation
Talks of a possible reconciliation between the two have been around for a while, with many prominent figures in the MAGA or Make America Great Again contingent hoping for Musk's return. Most notably, Vance had recently shared he was hopeful that Musk would make his return to the camp.
Trump also recently called Musk "80 percent super genius" in a recent interview. However, he did concede that Musk also had "20% problems" he needed to work on. Trump was also hopeful that he wouldn't find another political party.
What It Could Mean For Tesla, SpaceX
Reconciliation between the pair could provide a boost for Musk's enterprises as uncertainty looms over Tesla despite its strong rally amid Musk’s $1 billion stock purchase.
The administration’s scaling back of emissions standards cost Tesla billions of dollars in revenue it could've gained via ZEV credit sales. However, the administration's decision to propose easing of self-driving regulations by revising FMVSS or Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards could benefit Tesla. Importantly, Jonathan Morrison, Trump's pick to lead the NHTSA, had called for tougher oversight on autonomous vehicles.
Eased relations between the pair could also prove to be a boost for SpaceX, which was reportedly snubbed from a recent Pentagon briefing on Trump's Golden Dome project.
SpaceX was reportedly a frontrunner in the project. Easing tensions between the pair could help SpaceX get back into the fold with the Golden Dome project. The company also revealed laser tracking technology, as well as put 21 satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force; both instances could prove to boost its credentials.
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