U.S. President Donald Trump and his former close ally, billionaire Elon Musk, will not speak today, despite efforts by White House aides to mediate a truce after a major public spat the day before.
A White House official told Reuters that no conversation was planned for today, despite earlier announcements that the two would talk.
In a telephone interview this morning, hours after his heated exchange of words with Elon Musk, Donald Trump sounded remarkably indifferent about their feud, according to an ABC News report.
When asked about reports that he had a scheduled conversation with Musk later in the day, Trump asked:
“You mean the man who’s lost his mind?” He said he was “not particularly” interested in speaking with him at this time.
He stated that Musk wanted to talk to him, but that he was not ready to speak with Musk.
Escalation of the conflict
Musk’s Tesla shares fell yesterday by more than 14%, the largest single-day drop in the electric vehicle manufacturer’s history, and the company’s market value decreased by about 130 billion euros. In today’s pre-market trading, Tesla recovered some of its losses, rising by 5% after the talks were announced.
It is worth recalling that Musk financed a significant portion of Trump’s presidential campaign and then became one of the president’s most visible advisors, leading a broad and controversial initiative to reduce government and cut costs.
The verbal conflict escalated yesterday after Trump criticized Musk in the Oval Office, and the two then exchanged insults on their social media platforms – Trump on Truth Social, Musk on X. The conflict began several days earlier, when Musk, who resigned last week as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, publicly condemned Trump’s tax and spending bill.
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Source: B92; Photo: Reuters