Elon Musk says some of his posts about Trump 'went too far'
Elon Musk now says that some of the social media posts he made last week about President Donald Trump "went too far" and he regrets making them.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur's June 11 post appeared to signal a cooling down of the brief public feud with his former boss, just days after Trump said his relationship with Musk was over.
Musk has deleted some posts critical of Trump, including one signaling support for impeaching the president and another implicating him in the investigation of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Sources close to the world's richest man say his anger is subsiding and he's poised to repair the relationship.
"I thought it was very nice that he did that," Trump told the New York Post in an interview on June 11.
Musk developed a relationship with Trump late in the 2024 presidential campaign, as a major donor who helped turn out voters by sending checks to voters after they registered. Trump made Musk an adviser on his White House team, and Musk named his cost-cutting initiative the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, pronounced the same way as the tech mogul's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
Musk became a regular fixture at the White House, standing, in casual wear, behind the Resolute Desk at Oval Office press conferences and even sleeping in the historic Lincoln Bedroom. As Tesla stock plummeted, an apparent outcry against Musk's work to slash government spending and workers, Trump bought a flashy red Tesla to show his support.
But the height of this month's feud, Musk blasted Trump's budget bill as a "disgusting abomination" and suggested the Trump administration hadn't released all files involving accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein because, he said, the president is mentioned in them. (He retracted this post less than 48 hours later.) Trump said Musk was upset the budget wouldn't subsidize Musk's electric vehicles, and suggested the administration should end government contracts with Musk's companies.
"We had a good relationship, and I just wish him well," Trump said on June 9. Musk responded with a heart emoji to a video on X showing Trump's remarks. Trump also said he would not have a problem if Musk called, and he had no plans to discontinue the Starlink satellite internet provided to the White House by Musk's SpaceX, but he might move his Tesla off-site.
Musk began winding down in April, shortly after Trump's March 31 comments suggesting he would leave soon: "I think he's been amazing, but I also think he's got a big company to run. And at some point, he's going to be going back. He wants to."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said April 2 in a social media post that both men had already said Musk would end his role, "When his incredible work at DOGE is complete."
But Trump said June 5 in a Truth Social post that Musk was "wearing thin," adding, "I asked him to leave."
On May 30, shortly before the feud started, a bombshell New York Times report detailed Musk's heavy use of ketamine on the campaign trail, in addition to Ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and Adderall. Trump, who is a teetotaler, once told Fox News that he doesn't touch alcohol because he lost his brother to addiction.
Trump said the day of the New York Times story, he was unaware of Musk's drug use and, "I'm not troubled by anything with Elon." When the two appeared for an Oval Office press conference that night and a reporter asked about the drug use, Musk responded, "Let’s move on."
On June 9, reporters asked Trump whether Musk ever brought drugs into the White House. "I really don't know. I don't think so," the president said. "I hope not."
Contributing: Reuters; Paste BN reporters Francesca Chambers, Zac Anderson, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen, Josh Meyer, James Powell