Trump Says Musk ‘A Friend of Mine’

 The president made the comments while signing a bill targeting California’s emissions mandate.

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Elon Musk and Tesla, a day after Musk signaled that he wants to end the week-long feud between him and the president.

In comments to reporters, Trump described Musk as “a friend of mine,” but he said that “now we know why Elon doesn’t like me so much, which he does actually.”

Trump then praised Musk for endorsing him in 2024 even after he pledged during his campaign that he would abolish federal mandates on electric vehicles. The comment was made while signing legislation to override California’s emissions regulations that prop up electric vehicles in the state.

“I used to say, ‘I’m amazed that he’s endorsing me because that can’t be good for him. I’m abolishing the EV mandate,’” Trump said. “I once asked about it. ... He said, ‘Well, as long as it’s happening to everybody, I’ll be able to compete.'”

Trump also said in the off-the-cuff remarks that when he was speaking to Musk about the mandate, he was “a friend of mine.” The president then said that Musk’s remark about allowing for a level playing field was “very cool” but joked, “After that he got a little bit strange. I don’t know why.”

Tesla is the largest electric vehicle producer in the world by market capitalization, far outpacing its closest rivals—which are mostly Chinese companies.

The remarks from the president were made the day after Musk wrote in a post on X that he regrets some of the critical comments that he made a week ago targeting Trump and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act backed by the White House and Republicans.

“I regret some of my posts about President [Trump] last week,” Musk wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “They went too far.”

Responding to Musk’s post on X, Trump told the New York Post later on Wednesday that “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”

Trump was asked by the New York Post if he wanted to reconcile with Musk. The president has previously said that he doesn’t want to speak with Musk, suggested the pair would have no relationship going forward, and that the president might cut federal funding for Musk’s companies.

“I guess I could, but we have to straighten out the country,” Trump said in response. “And my sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it’s ever been. And I think we can do that.”

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine asked Trump if there was anything Musk could do. He responded by saying he has “no hard feelings.”

Late last week, Trump and Musk engaged in a war of words, with the presidential signaling that he could cut federal funding to Musk’s companies and Musk having said that it was because of him that Trump and the GOP won the 2024 election.

This week, the Tesla CEO indicated in posts made on his social media platform he wants to bury the hatchet.

Musk also backed comments that Trump made criticizing the efforts made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom during the riots and unrest in Los Angeles in recent days, posting a screenshot of a Truth Social post made by the president.

Before the critical comments, Musk had appeared alongside Trump in the White House in late May, as Trump praised him for his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk was departing the administration after his term as a special government employee expired.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-says-musk-a-friend-of-mine-5872011?&utm_source=MB_article_paid_t&utm_campaign=MB_article_2025-06-13-ca&utm_medium=email&est=20ZN7ualRex%2BEqymaae9OvtgPeN2ObTE9JIRIxNIvUMnWEqqyJHZhpm47TDFG7kgWSJa&utm_content=highlight-news-2