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President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he still viewed Elon Musk positively but felt that Musk’s criticisms of his “big beautiful bill” were inappropriate.
“I think he’s a wonderful guy. I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy, and I know he’s going to do well always,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
“He’s a smart guy. And he actually went and campaigned with me and this and that,” Trump added. “But he got a little bit upset, and that wasn’t appropriate.”
Trump’s praise of Musk comes just a day after Musk reignited his criticism of Trump’s signature tax bill.
On Saturday, Musk wrote in a post on X that the bill “will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country.”
“Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,” Musk added.
Trump’s “big beautiful bill” is pending a vote in the Senate. GOP lawmakers hope to send it to Trump’s desk on July 4.
Trump said on Sunday that Musk’s unhappiness stemmed from the proposed cuts to the Biden administration’s EV tax credits.
“Look, the electric vehicle mandate, the EV mandate, is a tough thing for him. I would, you know, I don’t want everybody to have to have an electric car,” Trump told Fox News.
Musk was a prominent backer of Trump’s presidential campaign last year. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO spent at least $277 million supporting Trump and other GOP candidates in last year’s elections. He later led the administration’s cost-cutting efforts as the head of the White House DOGE office.
But Musk’s relationship with Trump appeared to break down earlier this month, after he sharply criticized the president’s tax bill on X. Musk said Trump’s bill was a “MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK.” He also said he would be decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which are used in NASA missions, before walking it back.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote in an X post on June 5.
“Such ingratitude,” Musk added.
Trump said on June 5 that he was “very disappointed” at Musk’s behavior and threatened to cancel the government’s contracts with Musk and his businesses. He later struck a more conciliatory tone during a press conference on June 9.
“Look, I wish him well. You understand? We had a good relationship, and I just wish him well,” Trump said.
Musk backed away from his criticism of Trump days later.
“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote in an X post on June 11.
Musk and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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