Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to be waving a white flag early Wednesday morning, saying he “regret(s) some” of the criticism he aimed at Pres. Donald Trump last week. But it’s not clear whether that will be enough to deescalate the sudden feud between the two former allies. Trump and allies had warned Musk he could be putting billions of dollars in federal contract for his companies – including Tesla and SpaceX – at risk. Headlight.News has more.
Elon Musk issued an apology to Pres. Donald Trump in the form of a tweet on his social media site X early Wednesday morning – but it’s yet to be seen if that move will end the feud between the two men initially touched off by Musk’s criticism of the Trump-backed federal spending bill.
Both men appeared to take hits in their social media war of words. For his part, Trump warned Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, could have lucrative federal contracts at risk. But one of Musk’s shots posed potentially serious risk to the president by linking Trump to serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote on X in a post that went live at 3:04 AM EDT Wednesday.
What’s behind the feud
The feud was touched off when Musk attacked the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a spending measure working its way through Congress with the support of the president. The bill has run into significant opposition, even among some conservative members of Congress because of the multi-billion-dollar increase in the federal deficit it’s expected to generate.
In the first of a series of broadsides, Musk called the measure a “disgusting abomination” in a tweet. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” he declared. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Trump quickly fired back at Musk and the two then began a social media flame war just a week after the Tesla CEO and the president proclaimed their admiration for one another during a session in the Oval Office marking Musk’s departure from his stint as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Plenty at risk
The feud threatened to do damage to both men.
As the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk brought at least some credibility to his attack on the spending bill and could have provided cover for the Republican Senators who were not seen as ready to vote it into law.
Making matters worse for the president, Musk on June 6 tweeted, “Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” The post referenced serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who committed suicide before his trial could get underway. A number of high-power politicians, artists and businesspeople were believed to be referenced in the dossier federal prosecutors had put together, files Trump has so far declined to release.
In a series of posts on his own site, Truth Social, Trump made it clear he had plenty of ammunition to fire back with. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” the president wrote.
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The feud began barely a week after Musk and Trump said farewell in the Oval Office.
A tepid apology
Whether the olive branch Musk extended Wednesday morning will be enough to salve their relationship is uncertain. Observers began picking apart the terse post on X, noting that Musk said he regretted “some” of the things he’d written, which appeared to indicate he wasn’t willing to retract all of his comments.
Musk didn’t make clear which X posts he might still stand by, though there was no indication he was ready to sign on as a backer of the Trump-backed spending measure now facing scrutiny in the Senate.
As of mid-morning the president had yet to respond.
Collateral damage
Musk invested an estimated $270 million to back Trump’s bid for a second term.
Both men appeared to be under pressure to back off on their feud. Trump faced the possibility Musk really had more damaging information to release. And the battle didn’t help the president’s declining standing in public opinion polls.
It also rattled investors on several fronts, including the crypto market, Bitcoin at one point losing 4% of its value.
But Tesla took an even bigger hit on Wall Street. The automaker rode a “Trump Bump” following last November’s election, shares surging to a 52-wekk high of $488.54 in December. It subsequently plunged down into the low-$200-a-share territory as Musk’s work at DOGE generated a sharp backlash and led to worldwide protests – and boycotts – at Tesla dealerships. The stock rebounded in May after Musk said he’d leave Washington and remain CEO for at least five years.
The feud saw shares again plunging to closing low of $281.75 on June 5. But even though Trump has yet to weigh in on Musk’s Wednesday apology traders drove a big rebound in pre-market trading. What – if anything – Trump might now say could again send investors scurrying.
Come one come all…….
Match of the century…….
Super Rich vs. Super Powerful
TKO! Powerful wins! Match over.