President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear to be back on good terms after reportedly months of behind-the-scenes repair work by senior White House advisers. Their seemingly renewed closeness became unmistakable this week when Trump publicly teased the Tesla CEO during meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Donald Trump talks about Elon Musk during summit
Donald Trump mentioned Elon Musk several times during a business-focused speech, even joking directly with him from the podium. While promoting new tax-bill deductions for U.S.-made cars, Trump told the Tesla and SpaceX boss, “You are so lucky I am with you, Elon,” before adding, “Has he ever thanked me properly?”
The recognition followed Trump’s warm interaction with Musk at a White House banquet the previous night, where he tapped Musk’s arm in greeting. The billionaire had prime seating during Wednesday’s event and received two more call-outs as Trump reflected on their strategic decisions during the 2024 election. The president said it was “almost like you’re in a war” when deciding how to take on Democrats over border and transgender sports policies, recalling their conversations. He added, “We talked about that, right, Elon?”
According to New York Post‘s sources, Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were key in repairing the fractured relationship. They assured Musk that he had direct access to them and a private channel to express concerns or offer support. A source claimed both advisers offered themselves as “sounding boards and honest brokers” to Musk.
Another insider alleged that the relationship “has really thawed” in recent months, especially after Musk had once called for Trump’s impeachment and threatened to launch a third party. Wiles had also reportedly valued Musk’s contributions as the unpaid leader of the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year and didn’t want to lose his influence over government-reduction efforts.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
