There were signs of a "ceasefire" in the rapidly escalated row between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, reported Politico early on Friday morning (Swedish time).
Trump said that the relationship with the multi-billionaire Musk is "okay" and sources in the White House stated that they planned for talks between the president and the entrepreneur in the near future, in the hope of calming the waves. But Trump says he is not interested in that.
I'm not even thinking about Elon. He has a problem. The poor guy has a problem, he says to CNN a few hours later.
I won't talk to him for a while, I think, but I wish him well, he continues.
To ABC News, he calls Musk "the man who has lost his mind".
“Good advice”
On Thursday, Trump threatened, via his platform Truth Social, to "end government subsidies and contracts with Elon" to save money. In response, Musk first said that if that were the case, his space company Space X would shut down the Dragon program, which transports astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
But when a user on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, urged the two powerful men to "calm down and take a step back," Musk then replied:
“Good advice. Okay, we won't shut down Dragon.”
During the height of the dispute, the entrepreneur also wrote that Trump "is in the Epstein files" and that "the truth will come out".
He is referring to Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of a sex trafficking ring involving many celebrities. That Trump knew the now deceased Epstein is established, but no connections to the sex trafficking are.
Started with a bill proposal
Musk has also claimed that his support was crucial for Trump to win the election last year. But the president dismisses it.
– The numbers are sky-high, the greatest popularity I have ever had – now I have to go, he concluded the phone call with Politico on Thursday.
The dispute between the two men began with a new large bill proposal that Trump praises – but which Musk believes will increase the US budget deficit by enormous amounts.
It has caused stock markets to shake, with a focus on Musk's companies. Tesla, where he is CEO, had previously risen by 25 percent in a month, but much of that gain is now erased. Only on Thursday, Tesla fell by 14 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
