Trump lets rip at Elon Musk in stunning Oval Office meltdown as all-out feud breaks out
Washington DC - President Donald Trump said Thursday he was "very disappointed" by Elon Musk's criticism of his policy mega-bill, adding he didn't know if his friendship with his billionaire former advisor would survive.
In an extraordinary rant in the Oval Office as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat awkwardly beside him, Trump unloaded on SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk in his first comments on the issue.
"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore. I was surprised," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Musk slammed the bill as an "abomination" and whipped up opposition to it on social media.
"I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here... All of a sudden, he had a problem," he added.
The 78-year-old then delved into the deteriorating relationship with Musk.
"You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk, and even with the black eye. I said, you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup," Trump said.
"But he said, 'No, I don't think so,' which is interesting and very nice. He wants to be who he is."
Less than a week, Musk appeared at a press conference marking the end of his time leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency sporting a black eye, which he said was caused by his son.
Musk hits back with brutal posts
Trump said he could understand why Musk was upset with some steps he had taken, including revoking California's mandate to phase out gas-powered cars and withdrawing a nominee whom the tech tycoon had backed to lead NASA.
But the far-right Tesla CEO responded immediately on X, posting: "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
In a reply to another post, he added: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS