Trump calls Elon Musk ‘a friend’ who ‘got a little bit strange’
WASHINGTON — President Trump referred to Elon Musk as “a friend of mine” Thursday — but added that the former first buddy got “strange” last week when they traded attacks.
Trump spoke about Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, while signing legislation overriding California emissions rules that promote electric vehicles.
“I like Tesla,” Trump said?in the White House East Room?during a riff on how would-be car buyers should have choices, moments before recounting his relationship with Musk.
Musk was “very honest” in his equivocal stance on EV mandates, said the president, who added that the former Department of Government Efficiency figure “got a little bit strange” last week.
“This has been there from day one [that] we’re going to abolish the EV mandate. And Elon still endorsed me,” Trump explained.
“Honestly, he never ever spoke to me about that. And I used to say, ‘I’m amazed that he’s endorsing me because that can’t be good for him.’
“And I once asked him about it… He said, ‘Well, so long as it’s happening to everybody, I’ll be able to compete.’ It was a very interesting answer. I thought it was a very honest answer.”
Trump added that Musk “never did” urge him to change his mind on policies forcing auto-makers to dramatically boost electric vehicle offerings.
“I actually asked him, because it was like really strange that I’m with him, a friend of mine, and he makes electric cars and we’re saying… you’re not going to be forced to make all of those cars,” Trump said.
“He said, ‘As long as I’m on the same plane as everybody else, we’re going to do good, we make a better product.’ I said, ‘That’s very cool.’
“After that, he got a little bit strange — I don’t know why — over much smaller things than that.”
Musk lashed out at Trump last week after the president withdrew the nomination of Musk’s personal friend Jared Isaacman to lead NASA — at the?urging of White House personnel director Sergio Gor, with whom Musk had previously feuded.
As the fight escalated, Musk urged congressional Republicans to kill the massive pending budget reconciliation bill crammed with Trump’s campaign promises to curb taxes on overtime, tips and Social Security. The bill also phases out a $7,500 tax credit for electric cars.
Trump, 78, then accused Musk, his top donor in last year’s election, of contracting “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and threatened to?cancel his companies’ federal contracts?— with Musk, 53, in turn endorsing the president’s impeachment, accusing him of concealing files about pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s case and saying Trump would have lost the Nov. 5 election to Democrat Kamala Harris without his help.
The spat cooled quickly, with Musk on Tuesday deleting some of his harshest criticisms of Trump, writing they went “too far.”
“I thought it was very nice that he did that,”?Trump told The Post?Wednesday, though he did not say whether he was willing to fully mend bridges with the billionaire.
