Trump rejects reconciliation with Musk: “Wish him all the best”

After the public falling out with tech billionaire Elon Musk, US President Donald Trump has stated he is not interested in efforts toward reconciliation. He is so busy that he isn't even thinking about Musk, Trump said aboard the government flight Air Force One. "I wish him all the best."

When asked, Trump confirmed that efforts were underway to bring the two back together. "But that doesn't really concern me," Trump said. He's more interested in solving problems for the United States and the world.

When asked whether he would actually consider withdrawing government contracts from Musk's companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, Trump remained vague. He said they would look at everything, but only do what was "fair" for the country and Musk. On his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump spoke about cutting contracts and subsidies for Musk in order to save billions of dollars.

After months of unusually close cooperation, Musk and Trump are now engaged in an open mudslinging match. The dispute was sparked by a tax and budget bill pushed by Trump, which Musk opposes. Musk is demanding far more drastic spending cuts.

On Thursday, the president abandoned all restraint in the face of Musk's days-long criticism, writing that Musk had "gone crazy." The world's richest man then posted several fierce attacks on Trump on his platform X, to which the US president responded with equal snark. Among other things, Musk suggested founding a new centrist party on the platform X. Musk also claimed that Trump would never have won the presidential election without his support.

Musk had funded Trump's election campaign with more than $250 million and had become a confidant of the Republican. Until the end of May, he led Trump's cost-cutting committee, Doge, with which he implemented massive cuts and job losses.