United States President Donald Trump today made his first public comments on his feud with Elon Musk after the billionaire criticized Trump’s proposed budget. Their relationship, which previously seemed close, is now in question, and further tensions are expected.
“I’ve always liked Elon… You saw what he had to say about me… He didn’t say anything bad about me. I’d rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible. It’s the biggest cut in the history of our country. Listen, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we’ll ever have one again,” Trump said.
“I’m very disappointed”
According to him, Musk’s sudden change of heart was related to the decision to phase out subsidies for electric vehicles, which directly affects Tesla.
“Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anyone here… He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. He suddenly had a problem, and that problem appeared only when he found out that we will have to cancel the mandates for electric vehicles – because they are billions and billions of dollars,” said Trump.
He added: “And I can understand that, but he knew every aspect of this law. He knew it better than almost anyone and never had a problem – until right after he left. And if you saw the statements he made about me, which I’m sure you can find very easily – they’re very fresh – he said the nicest things about me and he didn’t say anything bad about me personally, but I’m sure it will be next. I’m very disappointed in Ilona. I helped him a lot.”
Condemnation of Trump’s move
Trump also said that Musk had proposed one person for the leadership position at NASA, but that he judged that it was not an appropriate solution.
As a reminder, earlier this week Elon Musk took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to strongly condemn Trump’s tax and spending bill:
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it anymore… This huge, outrageous, pork-laden Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you made a mistake. You know it,” Musk said.
