Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) investors and fans of SpaceX could have good news with what appears to be a repaired friendship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the electric vehicle and space companies.
TSLA stock is moving in positive territory. Get the scoop here.
Trump Says Relationship With Musk "Good"
After a public falling-out between Musk and Trump, which coincided with the Tesla CEO’s criticism of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the friendship between the two may be back in place.
"He had a bad spell, he had a bad period. He had a bad moment," Trump told reporters Monday when asked about Musk, reported Business Insider. "It was a stupid moment in his life, very stupid. I'm sure he'd tell you that. But I like Elon, and I suspect I always will."
Trump told reporters he has a "good" relationship with Musk and has spoken to the Tesla CEO "a little bit" in recent weeks since the two were spotted sitting together at a memorial ceremony for Charlie Kirk. "I like Elon, I've always liked him.”
Trump's comments come after opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill and Musk’s departure from the White House after working for the Department of Government Efficiency.
The president's praise for Trump comes as Musk has mostly backed away from publicly criticizing the president on social media or in public.
In June, Trump accused Musk of having "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here… He had no problem with it, all of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed a problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate," Trump said previously.
Musk later spoke out against the claim, saying he was never shown the bill.
Trump also said that Musk was upset when someone "he knew very well" was put in place to head NASA, only to be later withdrawn by the president — a reference to Jared Isaacman.
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Good News For Tesla, SpaceX?
Trump saying he has a "good" relationship with Musk and that the two have spoken "on and off, a little bit" since the Kirk memorial service could be good for his companies.
While the president has been critical of electric vehicles and pushed to remove the federal EV tax credit, Musk and Tesla may need the president's blessing to move forward with plans for autonomous vehicles.
Benzinga previously reported that Trump said he planned to ban autonomous vehicles from the roads before he was sworn in as president. This could be a huge setback for Tesla if Trump continues to be anti-autonomous vehicle.
Trump recently named Tesla critic Jonathan Morrison to lead the NHTSA.
With Musk and Trump getting along again, there could be hope that Musk can convince the president of the benefits of autonomous vehicles and push for approval at the national level in the future.
In the past, Tesla saw demand decline in several parts of the world due to Musk's political ties to Trump. A new report says Musk's ties to the Republican Party may have cost the electric vehicle maker up to 1.26 million vehicle sales.
Musk's political ties have led some Democrats to sell their Teslas or choose to shop elsewhere. When Musk criticized Trump, he lost support from a portion of the Republican Party, a move that may have hurt Tesla's demand further by alienating both major political parties.
With his relationship with Trump on the mend, Tesla could regain support from members of the Republican Party.
Musk and Trump talking could also lead to changes at NASA, with new reports that Isaacman could be in the running to lead the space agency. Isaacman is a noted SpaceX customer and supporter.
Musk has been critical recently of acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy, who also leads the Department of Transportation. Duffy recently said he was opening up the Artemis 3 lunar mission contract to competition after SpaceX missed its timeline.
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