No truce: Trump not interested in talking to Musk as they feud over tax cut Bill

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump is not interested in talking with Mr Elon Musk, a White House official said on June 6, signalling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut Bill any time soon.

The White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no phone call between Mr Trump and the Tesla CEO was planned for the day. Earlier, a different White House official had said the two were going to talk.

In interviews with several US media outlets, Mr Trump said he was focused on other matters.

“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem, the poor guy’s got a problem,” he told CNN.

Mr Trump may

get rid of the red Tesla Model S

that he bought in March after showcasing Mr Musk’s electric cars on the White House lawn, the official said.

Mr Musk, for his part, did not directly address Mr Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending Bill that contains much of Mr Trump’s domestic agenda.

On his social-media platform X, Mr Musk amplified remarks made by others that Mr Trump’s “big beautiful Bill” would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation’s US$36.2 trillion (S$47 trillion) debt. He replied “exactly” to a post by another X user that said Mr Musk had criticised Congress and Mr Trump had responded by criticising Mr Musk personally.

The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance. During the exchange, Mr Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Mr Musk’s businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.

Tesla shares rose on June 6, managing to claw back some steep losses from the previous session when it dropped 14 per cent and lost US$150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company’s history.

Mr Musk’s high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Mr Musk to apologise.

“President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon’s behaviour is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,” Mr Fishback said in a statement.

Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, bankrolled a large part of Mr Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Mr Trump named Mr Musk to head up a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

Mr Trump feted Mr Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Mr Musk cut only about half of 1 per cent of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe US$2 trillion from the federal budget.

Since then, Mr Musk has denounced Mr Trump’s tax-cut and spending Bill as a “disgusting abomination.” His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the Bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.

Mr Trump’s Bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure would add US$2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Mr Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly.

“I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Mr Johnson said on CNBC.

‘Very disappointed’

Mr Trump had initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the Bill, but broke his silence on June 5, telling reporters he was “very disappointed” in Mr Musk.

The pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms. Mr Musk, who spent nearly US$300 million in 2024’s elections, said Mr Trump would have lost without his support.

Mr Musk also asserted that Mr Trump’s signature import tariffs would push the US into a recession and responded “Yes” to a post on X saying Mr Trump should be impeached. That would be highly unlikely given Mr Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Mr Musk’s SpaceX plays a critical role in the US government’s space programme. When Mr Trump posted that he might cancel Mr Musk’s contracts, the billionaire responded he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, the only US spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Later, Mr Musk backed off that threat.

In a sign of a possible detente, Mr Musk subsequently wrote: “You’re not wrong” in response to billionaire investor Bill Ackman saying Mr Trump and Mr Musk should make peace.

A prolonged feud could make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections if Mr Musk withholds financial support or other major Silicon Valley business leaders distance themselves from Mr Trump.

Mr Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and on June 3 he called for “all politicians who betrayed the American people” to be fired in 2026.

His involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk’s attention was too divided. REUTERS