Days after the public fallout between United States President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk took over social media, the latter on Wednesday (June 11) expressed “regret” over some of his posts about the US president.
In a post on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk wrote, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
Tesla CEO’s remarks come following a war of words between the “besties” last week as Musk stepped down from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after criticising Trump’s newly introduced ‘Big, Beautiful’ spending bill.
I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025
Musk’s sharp criticism of the spending bill, which he said would further blow up federal budget deficits, did not sit well with Trump. It soon turned into a heated exchange, with both sides trading sharp barbs for several hours.
How did the spat begin?
Late last month, the tech billionaire, in an interview, expressed his disappointment with the US president’s spending Bill.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing. I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both,” Musk told CBS News.
Days later, he announced his exit from DOGE, sparking a rift that escalated when he called the Americans to tell their representatives in Washington to “kill the bill” after describing it as a “disgusting abomination”.
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“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” the tech giant wrote on social media platform X.
His post provoked a brutal response from Trump, with him saying, “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore.”
Musk later wrote, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate…Such ingratitude.” He also shared the idea of launching a new political party that “actually represents the 80% in the middle.”
Meanwhile, for his part, Trump hinted at retaliation by threatening to cancel Tesla CEO’s government contracts. Responding to the allegations from Musk, Trump in a post on Truth Social wrote, “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.”
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Musk, late last week, deleted his controversial tweet claiming “Trump is in the Epstein files,” signalling a possible attempt to dial down the tensions.
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