US President Donald Trump has embraced Elon Musk’s recent conciliatory words as a sign of a potential thawing of tensions between the two powerful men following their public rupture. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Wednesday that the president “acknowledged” Musk’s comment and was “grateful” for his milder tone.
No action has been taken on the president’s previous threat to rescind Musk’s statement of government contracts,” Leavitt explained, referencing Trump’s prior threats in their growing feud.
The thaw follows after Musk conceded that some of his recent remarks regarding Trump had “gone too far.” Trump took it well, referring to the billionaire’s announcement as “very nice.” The public sparring has sparked optimism that the tension can now be on the decline.
Musk’s war of words against Trump had raised politics and business worries, particularly with the entrepreneur’s large investments in Trump’s presidential campaign and his connections to major federal deals through entities such as SpaceX and Tesla.
The rift deepened after Musk posted and later deleted an unsubstantiated claim about Trump’s alleged links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Other controversial posts, including criticism of a federal spending bill and remarks crediting himself for Trump’s election victory, remain online.
The spat also unsettled Tesla stockholders. But Musk tried to change the subject by revealing that Tesla’s highly teased robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, is provisionally set to debut on June 22.
Averting investor fears of possible political reprisals, especially from federal safety regulators, Tesla stock rose almost 2% on Wednesday, wiping out losses in the last week when the Trump-Musk dispute reached its peak.
Market analysts remain keenly observing the situation, particularly considering the robotaxi launch’s importance to Tesla’s long-term growth plan and the wider implications for Musk’s companies in Washington.
