File picture of U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
White House aides scheduled a call between Donald Trump and Elon Musk for Friday (June 6, 2025), Politico reported, after a huge public spat that saw threats fly over government contracts and ended with the world’s richest man suggesting the U.S. president should be impeached.
The reported call could ease the feuding after an extraordinary day of hostilities — largely conducted over social media — that marked a stark end to a close alliance.
Shares in Mr. Musk’s Tesla closed down over 14% on Thursday, losing about $150 billion in market value in the largest single-day decline in value in its history. In pre-market European trading on Friday, they pared some of those losses, rising 5% after the Politico report that the two men were scheduled to speak.
Mr. Musk had bankrolled a large part of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign and was then brought in as one of the president’s most visible advisers, heading up a sweeping and controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
The verbal punches erupted on Thursday (June 5, 2025) after Mr. Trump criticised Mr. Musk in the Oval Office and the pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms: Mr. Trump’s Truth Social and Mr. Musk’s X.
The falling-out had begun brewing days ago when Mr. Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Mr. Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
The president initially stayed quiet while Mr. Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt.
Mr. Trump broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was “very disappointed” in Mr. Musk.
Back and forth
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Mr. Trump said. As Mr. Trump spoke, Mr. Musk responded on X.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” wrote Mr. Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing Trump and other Republicans in last year’s election.
In another post, Mr. Musk asserted that Trump’s signature import tariffs would push the U.S. into a recession later this year.
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Mr. Trump posted.
Minutes after the closing bell, Mr. Musk replied, “Yes,” to a post on X saying Trump should be impeached, something that would be highly unlikely given Mr. Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Mr. Musk’s businesses also include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.
Mr. Musk, whose space business plays a critical role in the U.S. government’s space program, said that as a result of Trump’s threats he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is the only U.S. spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station.
Late on Thursday, Mr. Musk backed off the threat.
In another sign of a possible detente to come, Mr. Musk subsequently wrote: “You’re not wrong,” in response to billionaire investor Bill Ackman saying Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk should make peace.
Published – June 06, 2025 04:34 pm IST