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Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's apology to Donald Trump reverses fallout, restores Tesla shares, & boosts his net worth by $191 million overnight
Last week, a public spat between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump took a dramatic turn. After making explosive allegations tying Trump to Jeffrey Epstein's files, Musk backtracked days later, offering an apology that seemed to align with both political and financial priorities. With a Tesla launch on the horizon and billions in government contracts at stake, the timing of the apology has raised questions—and eyebrows—in the business world. A fallout over government spending The friction began when Musk criticized what he described as a bloated and irresponsible government spending bill. On June 3, he posted on X, condemning the legislation. Trump reacted soon after, expressing disappointment in Musk during an Oval Office appearance. Trump suggested their once-strong relationship might now be damaged and hinted Musk knew the bill details 'better than anyone.' Musk responded directly, stating that he had never seen the bill and that it passed quickly and quietly through Congress. He also pushed back against Trump's claims about helping him win Pennsylvania in the elections, reminding the public of his financial contributions and role in Republican campaign strategies. An escalating war of words The disagreement escalated further. Musk took to X again, criticizing the legislation's impact on the national deficit. He even floated the idea of starting a new centrist political party. As tensions rose, Trump threatened to cut Musk's government subsidies and contracts. Musk fired back, calling the claims 'an obvious lie' and eventually brought Epstein-related accusations into the public conversation, alleging that Trump was part of the sealed files. By June 6, reports emerged of a phone call between the two to resolve the issue. Trump publicly dismissed the call, saying he had no intention of speaking with Musk and referring to the tech billionaire as someone with 'a problem.' Apology follows threats and private talks Following mounting pressure and a reported private discussion with Trump allies, Musk retracted his previous statements. On June 12, he posted, 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.' Trump accepted the apology, telling the New York Post that he appreciated the gesture and had no hard feelings. A White House spokesperson confirmed that Trump acknowledged Musk's statement and emphasized the administration's focus on national interests. Business gains from political truce Musk's apology proved beneficial. According to Forbes, his net worth increased to $411.4 billion after the fallout, recovering nearly $191 million in value. Tesla shares, which had fallen 14% during the feud, showed signs of recovery with a 1% uptick. With both SpaceX and Tesla heavily reliant on government partnerships, Musk's attempt to de-escalate the situation appears to be paying off. Investors, likely concerned about the impact of ongoing political hostility, can now expect greater stability. As reconciliation takes shape, Musk's financial and political interests seem aligned once again, with funding continuing from both sides of the aisle.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Musk CRAWLS Back? Trump Feud Ends in REGRET as Tesla Boss Posts SHOCK Apology
After days of explosive posts, Elon Musk is now walking it all back. The Tesla CEO expressed 'regret' over his jabs at Donald Trump — including an Epstein-related bombshell that vanished soon after being posted. Trump had warned of "serious consequences," and now Musk seems to be softening his tone. With deleted tweets, public apologies, and a feud that spiraled fast, is this the beginning of a truce or just another twist in the chaos? Read More
Economic Times
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Economic Times
Elon Musk backs JD Vance — and Trump's not happy: Michael Wolff says the President is paranoid
Elon Musk backs JD Vance—and it's causing serious tension with President Trump. As Musk openly praises the Vice President, Trump's growing fear of betrayal is becoming a political problem. According to author Michael Wolff, Trump sees Musk's support for Vance as a threat to his power. The President is reportedly becoming paranoid, especially after Musk's deleted Epstein-related post stirred online chaos. With Trump in office, Vance as VP, and Musk influencing from the sidelines, the GOP faces an internal power struggle. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Why is Trump worried about Elon Musk supporting his own VP, JD Vance? Is Trump's fear of being replaced by Vance real or just political paranoia? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How has JD Vance responded to Trump's growing suspicion? What role did the Epstein post play in escalating the drama? The story of Elon Musk backing JD Vance has taken a serious turn — and President Donald Trump isn't pleased. According to veteran political author Michael Wolff, the President is growing paranoid, even suspicious, of his own Vice President. With Trump currently in the White House and Vance just one heartbeat away, this isn't just political gossip — it's a sign of real tension at the a report published by Raw Story, journalist Michael Wolff revealed that President Trump is becoming increasingly anxious about Elon Musk's influence — and the way it's shaping JD Vance's political Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), has reportedly suggested that Vance would make a better president than Trump himself. In private, Musk has allegedly encouraged key donors and Silicon Valley insiders to look to Vance as a long-term idea, according to Wolff, has deeply unsettled Trump. Even though Vance is his running mate and now serves as Vice President of the United States, Trump is said to see him as 'too close to Musk' and a potential rival rather than a loyal says the fear is real — and growing. 'He's always been paranoid, but this is different,' Wolff told Raw Story. 'Trump sees Musk's money, his power on social media, and the way he talks about Vance — and he's starting to think there's a plot.'Wolff claims Trump is even considering 'loyalty tests' for his vice president, privately questioning whether Vance is more committed to the MAGA movement or to Musk's vision of tech-backed timing matters here. We're deep into 2025, with Trump now in his second term, and Vance being groomed by many on the right as the future of the Republican Party. That kind of speculation — especially when amplified by Musk — is enough to trigger Trump's deep political President JD Vance has publicly downplayed the rift, but his words reveal the pressure he's under. In a recent interview, Vance said, 'I'm the vice president to President Trump. My loyalties are always going to be with the president.' He also called Musk's recent comments a 'huge mistake' that stirred up unnecessary has spent the past year carefully balancing his loyalty to Trump with his appeal to younger conservatives and Silicon Valley influencers. That balancing act has worked — until now. As Musk continues to throw subtle shade at Trump and hint at a post-Trump GOP, Vance is increasingly caught in the closed doors, some Republican insiders say Vance is being advised to 'stay in his lane' — not to appear too ambitious, not to align too closely with Musk, and definitely not to outshine the president. But that's easier said than done when Musk has nearly 200 million followers on X and regularly fuels speculation about Vance's really boiled over when Musk posted — and then deleted — a message on X hinting that Trump's name might be found in Jeffrey Epstein's court records. No evidence was provided, and Musk has since gone silent on the matter. But the damage was said this was the moment that sent Trump over the edge. 'That was a silver bullet. Even if there's nothing there, just the suggestion of it reactivates all of Trump's worst fears.' The deleted post was widely screenshotted and shared across social media, giving critics of Trump a new narrative — and giving Musk's feud with the president a deeply personal edge.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JD Vance says the ‘blood feud' between Trump and Musk is ‘not going to be good for Elon' but admits he ‘suffered a lot' for the White House
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the deepening feud between Elon Musk and President Trump but emphasized his hope that Musk could eventually reconcile with the Trump administration, praising Musk's past efforts with DOGE and calling him a 'transformational entrepreneur.' While defending Trump and dismissing Musk's Epstein-related claims as baseless, Vance warned that Musk's aggressive political stance could backfire, both for his companies and the broader national interest. It's been pointed out by many spectators that the feud between the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and arguably the world's most powerful man, Donald Trump, is not going to end well for any involved. And JD Vance, Trump's political right hand, agrees. The Tesla CEO and president have fallen out to a major extent, at first over the White House's 'Big, Beautiful Bill', which Musk says will undo all the work of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But since Musk's departure from Washington D.C. several weeks ago, his attacks on President Trump have continued to ramp up. He has encouraged voters to outright rebel against the bill by contacting their political representatives, with Trump saying he was 'disappointed' in Musk for such statements. The man worth $342 billion hit back that Trump would have lost the election without his backing, with the president then threatening to terminate a host of government contracts to Musk's private entities. In response, Musk claimed that the president's name was in the Epstein files—a jibe he provided no evidence to support. Speaking in an interview this week, Vice President Vance said any notion that Trump did 'anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein' is 'BS.' Yet while the relationship between the Musk and Trump seems to have gone past the point of no return, Vice President Vance says he still wants to see the SpaceX founder return to the fold of the Trump 2.0 team. 'My basic read on it, first of all I'm the vice president to President Trump, my loyalties are always going to be with the president. Elon [is] an incredible entrepreneur, I think DOGE was really good. The effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse in our country was really good,' Vance told the 'This Past Weekend' podcast with Theo Von. 'I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear—I hope it is,' Vance added. Musk's decision to go 'nuclear', as Vance describes it, may not prove to be in the best interest of his companies, such as Tesla and Space X, which may now draw the attention of the Oval Office for the wrong reasons. As a result of this concern, in the past five days alone the share price of Tesla has sunk more than 14%, with Musk's net worth taking an eye-watering hit as a result. Vance suggested that Musk may be shooting from the hip instead of assessing the ramifications of going head-to-head with the White House, adding: 'Elon's new to politics … I think part of it is this guy got into politics and has suffered a lot for it.' Indeed even prior to a spat with the White House, Musk was suffering for his political interests. While heading up DOGE, protestors to his work and the Trump administration began targeting Tesla by damaging cars, showrooms, and charging points—not only in the U.S. but also across Europe. 'The process in D.C., if you're a business leader you probably get frustrated with that process because it's more bureaucratic [and] slow moving. So I think there's some frustrations there,' Vance added. 'But I think it's huge mistake for [Musk] to go after the president like that. I think that if he and the president are in some blood feud, most importantly it's going to be bad for the country but I … don't think it's going to be good for Elon either.' Concerns have been raised about the bill on account of the fiscal ramifications of the largest tax breaks 'in history,' with previous projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finding the legislation would add $3.8 trillion to the deficit while proposed cuts to Medicaid would shave only $1 trillion in spending. However the Trump administration said statements such as 'The One Big Beautiful Bill increases spending' and 'The One Big Beautiful Bill adds to the deficit' are false. For example, the White House points to the CBO's predictions that while tariffs will shrink the economy it will also reduce federal deficits by $2.8 trillion (the inclusion of the Big Beautiful Bill in its modeling is not mentioned). 'I think that it's a good bill and it does a lot of good for the American people,' Vance continued. 'Look, Elon's entitled to his opinion. I'm not saying he has to agree with the bill or agree with everything that I'm saying, I just think it's a huge mistake for the world's wealthiest man—I think one of the most transformational entrepreneurs ever—to be at war with the world's most powerful man who I think is doing more to save the country than … anybody in my lifetime.' He added: 'I don't want to reveal too many confidences but [Trump] was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon … the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk, and I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine.' This story was originally featured on
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Feud on pause? Aides of Elon Musk and Donald Trump hold talks; but 'relationship remains uncertain': Report
Elon Musk and Donald Trump (File photo) The fragile peace, following the social media conflict between US President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk held steady, as their aides engaged in talks on Friday, according to two White House officials cited by Politico. However, one of the officials addressed Trump's Truth Social hiatus with Musk saying, "He's stopped posting, but that doesn't mean he's happy," "The future of their relationship is totally uncertain," added the official, speaking under anonymity. Both individuals have temporarily ceased their public disagreements, which included Musk's impeachment suggestions and Trump's threats regarding federal contracts for Musk's enterprises. Neither party was keen on this cessation, according to the officials familiar with both men's sentiments. Trump was particularly irritated by Musk's suggestion of presidential connections to Jeffrey Epstein , stating Trump was "in the Epstein files." While Trump's name appears in publicly available Epstein-related court documents alongside other prominent figures, no wrongdoing has been linked to Trump. However, Musk's claim about Trump's electoral victory depending on his support, including substantial political contributions, particularly angered the president, the officials claimed. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo This dispute between the two emerged as the president and Republican leadership attempted to advance significant domestic policy legislation, potentially Trump's most substantial second-term achievement. Musk criticised the megabill for having a "MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK." When contacted, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told POLITICO, "As President Trump has said himself, he is moving forward focused on passing the One Big Beautiful Bill." The reported talks between the aides come just days after reports claimed that Musk might have talks with White House officials, although a direct dialogue between them seems improbable at present. Read more: Direct talks unlikely; White House aides may engage- report Tensions began rising before last week's social media exchanges. Trump expressed disappointment in Musk's overselling of DOGE's capacity to reduce federal bureaucracy. The White House's withdrawal of Jared Isaacman's Nasa leadership nomination, Musk's preferred candidate, reportedly further strained relations. A senior White House official informed Fox News' chief White House correspondent Peter Doocy that presently there are no plans for Trump and Musk to speak directly. Fox News learnt from a source close to the matter that "Musk wants a call. POTUS hasn't made a decision," suggesting that Trump is unlikely to engage with Musk, particularly on Friday. White House personnel director Sergio Gor, responsible for this decision, has maintained ongoing friction with the billionaire, according to both White House officials. Musk declined cooperation with Gor following a March Cabinet meeting where the president asserted departmental heads' authority over Musk, who attended the meeting. This meeting occurred after the Tesla founder initiated widespread dismissals and warnings to government employees, resulting in legal challenges and bipartisan criticism. While most lawmakers and Republican strategists believe Trump maintains advantage in any potential future conflict, Musk represents an unprecedented opponent: the world's wealthiest individual with social media influence comparable to presidential authority.
