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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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President Donald Trump said he is open to forgiving Elon Musk after the billionaire's recent attacks, marking a potential turning point in their political feud, though he was "not a happy camper" about what had happened.
Musk, who had just departed his role advising the White House on federal spending cuts, sharply criticized Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill in a series of posts on his X platform (formerly Twitter), a feud that rapidly escalated into personal attacks. He has since expressed regret.
"I have no hard feelings. But I was really surprised that that happened," Trump told Pod Force One with The New York Post's Miranda Devine in an interview published on Wednesday morning.
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"I guess I could," Trump said when asked if he could forgive Musk, adding, "but we have to straighten out the country."
"My sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it's ever been," he said.
Why It Matters
The Trump-Musk alliance brought together the worlds of Big Tech and MAGA, a powerful and lucrative connection for conservative politics. Musk had gone all-in on Trump, both through personal support and in big political spending.
Its fracturing into pro-Musk and pro-Trump camps, with Musk even touting the creation of a new political party, could have substantial political costs for Republicans, such as in the midterm elections next year.
Moreover, the impacts on Musk's businesses—through loss of federal contracts for SpaceX and Starlink, and more reputational damage to Tesla through the alienation of another political tribe, this time on the right—threatened to carry deep financial pain.
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What To Know
The clash occurred shortly after Musk left his White House advisory role on good terms with Trump, having led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with reducing waste and fraud in federal spending.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO soon took aim publicly at the One Big Beautiful Bill, the centerpiece of Trump's domestic agenda, filled with tax cuts and spending on the military and border security, as "pork-filled" and a "disgusting abomination" that piled on excessive U.S. debt.
He also accused Trump of ingratitude, taking credit for delivering his 2024 election win, and claimed the president was in the Jeffrey Epstein files, explaining the delay to their full release by the Department of Justice. Musk also said Trump had lied.
Trump threatened to review lucrative federal contracts held by Musk's businesses in response and said that Musk had never made those criticisms during his time in the White House.
Musk had posted to X a few hours before the Trump interview was released that he regretted some of his remarks about the president.
"They went too far," Musk said, after deleting them from X.
What People Are Saying
Investment analysts at WedBush, in a note on June 11: "Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk. We believe this is an important step to the two becoming friends again and allies on a number of topics."
Tesla investor James Fishback told Reuters on June 7: "President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon's behavior is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing."
What Happens Next
The future of the Trump-Musk relationship remains uncertain. As far as is known publicly, Musk and Trump have not spoken directly since the feud began. But there is a clear effort from Musk's side to reset the relationship.
Congressional debate over Trump's bill continues—and may remain a sore point unless Musk's concerns about the impact on federal debt are addressed—but both sides face pressure from their allies to resolve their public dispute.
Update 6/11/25, 9:43 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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