Trump praises Elon Musk as ‘great guy’ after fierce criticism

Speaking to Fox News on June 29, US President Donald Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk as “smart” and “always doing a good job”. Mr. Trump said: “He is a great guy, he campaigned with me.”

Billionaire Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Reuters)

When asked what led to the big disagreement between the two, President Trump said that Tesla’s CEO was upset with the policy of abolishing the electric vehicle tax credit.

A day ago, billionaire Elon Musk publicly criticized Mr. Trump’s super bill as ‘political suicide’. Mr. Elon Musk emphasized : “The latest draft of the Senate will destroy millions of American jobs and cause serious strategic damage to this country. This is completely insane and destructive. This bill privileges outdated industries while severely damaging the industries of the future”.

Elon Musk is the owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where he has 220 million followers. He is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

The billionaire also accused Mr Trump of appearing in classified Justice Department documents related to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – something the White House has denied.

Billionaire Elon Musk later posted an apology: “I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. I crossed a line.”

Will President Trump get the upper hand over Elon Musk in the next war of words?

“This bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,” “insane and destructive to the extreme.”… The war of words between President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk continued to rage when Musk criticized Mr. Trump’s spending bill.

The relationship between President Trump and American billionaire Elon Musk seemed to have “calmed down” after a heated war of words in early June that saw both of them attack each other on social media.

And it was thought that when Elon Musk expressed regret for letting himself go too far and had to apologize to President Trump, the story between the two would be “sweet and sour”. However, Musk still seemed to be unwilling to accept Mr. Trump’s “big and beautiful” $4,000 billion spending bill .

And when this bill was just considered and passed by the Senate, a series of statements criticizing the bill were posted by Musk on the social platform X.

“This bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,” Musk wrote on the X platform on June 28.

Musk also called the “big and beautiful” bill “insane and destructive to the extreme.”

“The latest draft from the Senate would destroy millions of American jobs and cause serious strategic damage to our country. The bill favors outdated industries and severely harms the industries of the future,” the Tesla CEO wrote.

In fact, the Senate’s important vote to pass the bill is just a procedural step to agree to bring the bill to official discussion in the Senate, and does not have clear legal status.

Earlier in June, Musk expressed his disappointment with the bill, calling it a massive spending package filled with pro-bono provisions that were difficult to accept.

And this time, in response to Musk’s latest criticism, Mr. Trump’s reaction was surprising. Speaking to Fox News on June 29, US President Donald Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk as “smart” and “always doing a good job” in everything. Mr. Trump said: “He’s a great guy, he campaigned with me.”

When asked what led to the big disagreement between the two, President Trump said that Tesla’s CEO was upset with his policy of eliminating the electric vehicle tax credit.

Mr. Trump’s reaction surprised many people, thinking that perhaps Mr. Trump once again “outclassed” the talented but still politically “inexperienced” billionaire.

Power and Innovation

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk – one is a seasoned politician, the other is a top tech entrepreneur. They are both quintessentially American: confident, bold, and ambitious. But that also makes their clash inevitable, according to the New York Post.

Trump came from the real estate world and won the presidency with a tough, populist style. Musk came from technology into media and policy, bringing with him radical innovation and a belief in technocratic efficiency.

They have joined hands on several government initiatives. But like two magnets with the same poles, when absolute consensus is no longer there, confrontation is inevitable. And it does not stop at innuendo, but escalates into a public war of words.

The media has dubbed it a modern-day “jungle fight” – a fight between political power and financial and technological influence. But what makes this fight special is that it is not just about egos, but also about two different ways of “loving America.”

Pragmatic and Idealistic

On the surface, the confrontation appeared to have been sparked by Musk publicly criticizing the “big and beautiful” bill — one of the major legislative legacies that Mr. Trump is pushing in Congress.

Musk was once entrusted by Trump with the task of reforming the government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He set a goal of saving $1 trillion by cutting excess spending and eliminating bureaucracy. But when he read the new bill, Musk said that what he fought for was not reflected.

Although in two different fields, President Trump and billionaire Musk have cooperated to bring benefits to each other. Photo: Reuters.

He felt betrayed, and as usual, he responded with a strong social media response. From being dissatisfied with the policy, Musk turned to personal attacks, implying that Trump had connections with Jeffrey Epstein – a sensitive and unsubstantiated allegation.

President Trump, instead of responding as usual, just gently sarcastically said: “My old friend has lost his mind.” The response was gentle but enough to confuse the opponent and keep the upper hand.

Behind the back-and-forth lies a major difference in political philosophy. Musk is in favor of small, transparent, low-spending government—a model that resembles a tech company. He believes that with enough data and determination, any system can be redesigned for optimal performance.

Mr. Trump is different. He does not prioritize balanced budgets or a minimalist government. For him, government is a tool for a cultural revolution, one in which “traditional American values” are protected from trends he sees as far-left: identitarianism, climate change, DEI programs, etc.

Many experts predict that the relationship between President Trump and billionaire Musk will certainly have many more surprises. Photo: Reuters.

So the “Big Beautiful Bill” is not just a spending bill, but also a “Trump tower” in legal form. It legitimizes the hard-line border policies, continues the tax cuts from his first term, and clearly demonstrates his ambition to reshape America in a conservative direction.

Politics is not a stage show

In terms of media influence alone, Musk has a large following, a fast-spreading following, and a “no-nonsense” style. But on the political playing field—where the rules are complex and the public needs not just ideas but execution—the White House chief clearly has more control.

President Trump understands that to make change, you have to play by the rules. He has experience running an administration, talking to Congress, and most of all, the ability to maintain a loyal coalition of voters. To the MAGA movement, he is not just a politician, but a symbol of resistance to what they see as America’s “disorientation.”

If we only consider media influence, Musk has a fast spreading power, but on the political playing field, President Trump still has the upper hand. Photo: Reuters.

Musk, while he may be a brilliant innovator in the lab, is impatient with the complexities of politics. That makes him prone to spontaneous clashes, but difficult to maintain long-term influence in the machinery of power.

This war of words may not be over yet. But at the moment, with President Trump still firmly in control of the game, Musk – talented and wealthy as he is – will have a hard time winning.