“Went too far”: Elon Musk’s remorseful post alludes to reconciliation with Trump

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and once U.S. President Donald Trump’s confidante, took to his social media platform X to publicly state the contrition he ostensibly feels for his posts about Trump last week, which led to both men washing their dirty linen in public in a well-publicised feud on social media, culminating in a staggering erosion of $150 billion in Elon Musk-owned Tesla’s market value.

“I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far,” reads Musk’s post, not elaborating whether the two men have buried the hatchet—after publicly taking jibes at each other and policy threats across their social media platforms, which rattled investors.

The feud began when Musk, who had recently stepped down from his role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted a scathing critique of Trump’s most cherished “One Big Beautiful Bill”. Musk, who rarely minces his words, called the bill a bloated, irresponsible spending spree. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” read Musk’s post.

Musk also warned of the growing financial strain this bill would place on ordinary Americans, claiming the legislation would balloon the budget deficit to $2.5 trillion. “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,” he added.

He upped the ante, launching a fusillade of attacks on Trump—including calling for his impeachment, and dredging up past allegations that linked Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—accusations that Trump has denied in the past. Trump retorted by alluding that his administration will slash federal contracts and subsidies critical to both Tesla and SpaceX — companies that have long benefited from government support. Musk retorted by threatening to suspend key NASA transport missions facilitated by SpaceX, though he later reneged on that statement.

Although both have publicly denied that they had a fallout, Trump, in an interview with ABC last week, said he ‘had no particular interest’ in engaging with Musk, deriding his former friend and biggest supporter as ‘the man who has lost his mind.’ Later, the New York Times, citing an administration official, reported that Trump had sold his personal red Tesla vehicle.

In the 2024 U.S. Presidential election campaign, Musk had emerged had one of Trump’s most fervent and vociferous advocates, pumping millions of dollars from his pocket into Trump’s campaign, culminating in a historic landslide victory for Trump. The image of Musk jumping on the stage with Trump—making an unexpected appearance at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in October—is considered one of the most iconic images of Trump’s historic election campaign, seconded only by Trump raising a defiant fist after a bullet grazed his ear on the same dais in Bulter in July last year.