By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When Donald Trump met privately with White House officials on Wednesday, there was little to suggest that the U.S. president was close to a public break with Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman who helped him win a second term in office.

Two White House officials familiar with the matter said Trump expressed confusion and frustration in the meeting about Musk's attacks on his sweeping tax and spending bill. But he held back, the officials said, because he wanted to preserve Musk's political and financial support ahead of the midterm elections.

By Thursday afternoon, Trump's mood had shifted. He had not spoken to Musk since the attacks began and was fuming over what one White House aide described as a "completely batshit" tirade by

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