President Donald Trump is “not interested” in speaking with Tesla CEO Elon Musk to resolve their ongoing dispute, a senior White House official told NBC News on Friday morning. This comes after a sharp exchange between the two billionaires on Thursday, centered on Musk’s criticism of Trump’s proposed tax bill currently under Senate review.
Trump, who until recently counted Musk as one of his top government advisors, accused Musk of having “gone crazy” and warned that federal contracts with Musk’s companies, including SpaceX, could be at risk. In response, Musk asserted that Trump would not have won the presidency without his substantial financial backing. Musk also criticized Trump for being ungrateful and for falsely claiming that he had removed Musk from the White House due to Musk “wearing thin.”
Back-and-Forth Over SpaceX’s Dragon Spacecraft
Musk added fuel to the fire by announcing that SpaceX would retire its Dragon spacecraft, the only current U.S. vehicle transporting crew to and from the International Space Station. Musk later backtracked, saying the Dragon would not be decommissioned.
In an interview with CNN, Trump expressed no intention of talking to Musk soon but wished him well, stating, “I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem.”
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, told NBC News there were “no plans for that today” in response to a Politico report claiming White House aides had arranged a call with Musk to broker peace. However, another administration official said, “There could be anything — I’d like to de-escalate a very unfortunate situation,” while confirming that no calls were currently scheduled.
What The Author Thinks
The spat between President Trump and Elon Musk highlights the challenges when personal conflicts spill into the public and political arenas. Both men wield considerable influence, but their clash risks overshadowing policy debates and complicating cooperation on important issues. While Musk’s support was once a valuable asset to the administration, their current discord shows how fragile alliances can be when ambitions and opinions collide. Ultimately, calming this feud would benefit both sides and the broader political landscape, but it will require willingness that neither party seems ready to offer just yet.
Featured image credit: Heute
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