Musk backs down: World's richest man caves to Trump White House

WASHINGTON – Perhaps a reconciliation was just as inevitable as the breakup that so many predicted.

Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur and former top White House DOGE adviser, has gradually taken steps to restore his tattered relationship with President Donald Trump and surrender, just days after their alliance blew up in a spectacular war of words marked by personal insults and threats.

The early returns have Trump ‒ no stranger to scorched-earth fights ‒ coming out on top in the battle between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful man. Both own major social media platforms, but it doesn't hurt that the president is the one with the sway of the White House.

More: What's next for DOGE after Trump's alliance with Musk collapsed

The first signs of retreat came when Musk expressed support on X, the social media company he owns, for Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles to squelch protests that erupted over the administration's ICE raids.

Then, less than 48 hours after his June 5 blowup with Trump, Musk deleted his most salacious X post ‒ an accusation that Trump's name is mentioned in classified files related to the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Musk also deleted a post he made during the feud endorsing Trump's impeachment.

By June 11, Musk was ready to apologize and take back some of the insults he hurled at the president. "I regret some of my posts about President. @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk said in a 3:04 a.m. post on X, without specifying which posts he was sorry about.

The night before Musk's early-morning apology, Musk reached out and talked to Trump by phone. It was their first private conversation since their relationship ruptured.

Vice President JD Vance and Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, had urged Musk to put an end to the feud with Trump during an earlier phone call last Friday, the Wall Street Journal and Axios reported.

More: Elon Musk says some of his posts about Trump 'went too far'

Musk's calculation

Soon afterward, it seems Musk made a calculation and repositioned himself, determining it was better to be on Trump's side than to turn into his latest enemy.

Maybe most telling of all: Musk has largely muted his previously loud criticism of Trump's tax and policy megabill, which the president has dubbed his "big, beautiful bill." Musk's relentless attacks on the legislation ‒ which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called a "disgusting abomination" ‒ became the main catalyst behind the great fight between Trump and Musk that unfolded last week.

Trump had threatened to end billions of federal government contracts with Musk's SpaceX. And a prolonged fight with Trump also risked alienating Musk from the president's loyal MAGA base ‒ something that could put his business empire in further peril after Tesla sales plummeted amid a liberal backlash against Musk's deep cuts to the federal workforce and programs.

More: Trump's past feuds don't bode well for Elon Musk

Musk may have averted joining the ranks of Trump's protracted warfare against political allies who turned against him. Trump has found the upper hand in about every instance, leaving scorched remains of his opponents on the battlefield.

“If what happened to me is any indication of how they handle these matters, then Elon is going to get decimated,” Michael Cohen, the former long-term Trump lawyer and fixer who once said he’d “take a bullet” for his boss, told USA TODAY shortly after Musk's blowup with Trump. Cohen said Musk "just doesn't understand how to fight this type of political guerrilla warfare."

Trump 'doesn't blame' Musk for his outbursts

For the first four months of Trump's second term, Musk was the biggest face of the Trump administration – besides Trump himself – as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, which worked to slash the size of the federal government and cut federal workers. After Musk left his post this month, Trump hosted a friendly send-off before the two men later turned against each other.

For his part, Trump has said he was not thinking much about Musk, signaled he's ready to move on from the fight, vowed to keep DOGE operating ‒ and also left the door open for a truce.

"I guess I could, but you know, we have to straighten out the country," Trump said in a podcast hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine when asked whether he could forgive Musk.

More: Trump and Musk's bromance ends after personal attacks over criticism of tax bill

Trump, in the podcast released June 11, said he has "no hard feelings" toward Musk but was "really surprised" his tech friend turned against him. "He went after a bill that's phenomenal," Trump said, adding, "When he did that, I was not a happy camper."

"I was disappointed in him. But it is what it is. Things like that happen. I don't blame him for anything," Trump said.

For now, Trump has buried the hatchet. In recent days, the 78-year old two-term president has said he had no plans to ask Musk to return his honorary White House key. Nor is he getting rid of the red Tesla he bought from Musk, although he said he might "move the Tesla around a little bit," he said. Trump also said he wouldn't ditch Musk's Starlink internet service that was installed at the White House.

More: Musk tries to get back into Trump's good graces, one X post at a time

Can Musk and Trump rebuild their alliance?

Yet to restore the Trump-Musk alliance in full, much would have to be forgiven ‒ and that's to say nothing of Musk's allegation invoking Epstein.

Musk's barrage of criticism over the deficit implications of Trump's massive tax and policy bill, which looks to cement the president's domestic agenda, put the legislation in jeopardy. Musk has amplified the voices of a handful of skeptical Republican senators who are also worried about the bill's $3 trillion deficit projection over 10 years.

Irking Musk, Trump blamed the tech mogul's opposition to the bill on business interests. The bill would end $7,500 consumer tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, a policy of former President Joe Biden that has benefited Tesla.

More: Trump withdraws nominee to lead NASA Jared Isaacman, a close ally of Elon Musk

Musk also expressed disappointment after Trump withdrew his nominee for the administrator of NASA, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut with close ties to Musk.

Meanwhile, the White House effectively let Musk walk after he became a political liability, objected publicly to Trump's steep tariffs and clashed with top Trump officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

More: Elon Musk's rise and fall: From Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit

Prior to his White House departure, Musk asked for his "special government employee" status to be extended beyond 130 days to allow him to continue to lead DOGE, but the White House declined, a source told USA TODAY.  

"I think he misses the place," Trump said last week in his remarks that ignited Musk's fierce response. "I think he got out there, and, all of a sudden, he wasn't in this beautiful Oval Office."

The way things have trended since, however, Musk might just make his way back.

This article has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Josh Meyer.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.