Reuters US Business
By Nandita Bose and Alexandra Ulmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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 was planned for the day. Earlier, a different White House official had said the two were going to talk.
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.
Musk, for his part, did not directly address Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending bill that contains much of Trump's domestic agenda.
On his social-media platform X, Musk amplified remarks made by others that Trump's "big beautiful bill" would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. He replied "exactly" to a post by another X user that said Musk had criticized Congress and Trump had responded by criticizing Musk personally.
People who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Trump, according to one person who has spoken to Musk's entourage.
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.
Tesla stock rose on Friday, clawing back some losses from Thursday's session, when it dropped 14% and lost $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 a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
Trump feted Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk cut only about half of 1% of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe $2 trillion from the federal budget.
Since then, Musk has denounced Trump's tax-cut and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination." His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Trump's 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.
'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.
Musk, who spent nearly $300 million in last year's elections, said Trump would have lost without his support and suggested he should be impeached.
Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Musk's businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.
The billionaire then threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, the only U.S. spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Musk later backed off that threat.
Musk had been angered when Trump over the weekend revoked his nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Two sources with direct knowledge of the dispute said White House personnel director Sergio Gor had helped turn Trump against the Isaacman by highlighting his past donations to Democrats.
Musk and Gor had been at odds since the billionaire criticized Gor's pace of hiring at a March cabinet meeting, the two sources said.
A White House spokesperson, Steven Cheung, praised Gor's efforts to staff the administration but did not address his relationship with Musk.
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.
(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Alexandra Ulmer and Jarrett RenshawWriting by Andy SullivanEditing by Scott Malone, Frances Kerry and David Gregorio)
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