Are ties between Donald Trump and Elon Musk warming again? The question resurfaced on Tuesday when tech billionaire Elon Musk appeared at the White House alongside the US President and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — their second public sighting together since a bitter feud earlier this year.Musk’s presence signalled what many see as an effort at repairing a rocky relationship between the world’s richest man and the US president.
The Tesla chief attended a candlelit dinner hosted by Trump for the visiting Saudi crown prince, just months after publicly calling for Trump’s impeachment and hinting that the president was linked to the scandal involving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Also Read |‘Quiet, Piggy’: Journalist asks Trump about Epstein files; US President snapsBefore the fallout, Musk had been one of Trump’s biggest backers. He funded Trump’s presidential bid last year and later emerged as a key adviser, heading the Department of Government Efficiency and driving major cuts to federal spending and jobs.But the partnership quickly soured. Musk slammed Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill as irresponsible and said he intended to launch a new political party. Trump hit back, threatening to cut federal subsidies that support Musk’s companies.The feud — combined with Musk’s increasingly hard-right political rhetoric — dented Tesla’s brand image, sales, and stock performance, according to analysts.The two have rarely been seen together since. Their last public interaction was a brief handshake at a memorial event for conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.Trump is hosting the Saudi crown prince as Riyadh works to rebuild its global image and strengthen ties with Washington. Also present at the high-profile dinner were Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
