Trump is not interested in talking to Musk as they feud over tax-cut bill

A war of words is beginning to emerge between U.S. President Trump and Elon Musk following the billionaire's White House exit. Joy Malbon has the details.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump is not interested in talking with Elon Musk, a White House official said on Friday, signaling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill any time soon.

The White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no phone call between Trump and the Tesla CEO is planned for the day. Earlier, a different White House official had said the two were going to talk.

• Musk says ‘Trump would have lost’ without his help, U.S. president threatens to kill contracts

In interviews with several U.S. media outlets, Trump said he was focused on other matters.

“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem, the poor guy’s got a problem,” he told CNN.

Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Musk’s electric cars on the White House lawn, the official said.

The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance. During the exchange, Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Musk’s businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.

Tesla shares rose on Friday, managing to claw back some steep losses from the previous session when it dropped 14 per cent and lost US$150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company’s history.

Musk’s high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Musk to apologize.

“President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon’s behavior is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,” Fishback said in a statement.

Musk, the world’s richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head up a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

The falling-out began brewing Tuesday. Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill, which contains most of Trump’s domestic priorities. His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.

Musk denounced the package as a “disgusting abomination” that would add too much to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt.

Just last week, Trump feted him at the White House after he left his post at DOGE. Musk cut only about half of 1 per cent of total spending, far short of his brash plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” 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 the measure would add $2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly.

“I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Johnson said on CNBC.

• The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words

‘Very disappointed’

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.

Musk’s SpaceX plays a critical role in the U.S. government’s space program. When Trump posted that he might cancel Musk’s contracts, the billionaire responded he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, the only U.S. spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Later, Musk backed off that threat.

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 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.

By Nandita Bose, Reuters

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry)