Elon Musk backs off feud with Trump, says he regrets social media posts

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FILE-President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle at the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Elon Musk is backing off his feud with President Donald Trump, posting on X that he regrets some of his social media posts about Trump, admitting that they went "too far."

Musk wrote Wednesday morning, "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far."

RELATED: Musk says 'Trump is in the Epstein files' as public feud escalates

The billionaire earlier deleted a post where he alleged without evidence that the government was hiding information about the president’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, the Associated Press reported. 

Trump addresses Musk feud 

The other side:

President Donald Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk and warned that the Tesla founder could face "serious consequences" if he attempts to help Democrats in upcoming elections.

How did the Trump-Musk feud start?

The backstory:

A rift began between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as Trump pursued tariffs that could raise costs for Musk's businesses.

The Associated Press reported that Musk said Peter Navarro, the president's trade adviser, was "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" on April 8.

RELATED: Trump-Musk feud: Here's a look at how things escalated

Musk, who had never worked in public service, apparently started to sour on government. The billionaire suggested there wasn't enough political will, either in Congress or in the White House, to lower spending.

Trump began hinting that it was time for Musk to leave even though Musk said he would be willing to stay. Shortly before announcing he was leaving the White House, Musk said he was "disappointed" by legislation that Trump called the "big beautiful bill" because it would increase the deficit. 

The proposed legislation would increase the deficit while eliminating tax incentives that have helped his electric automaker Tesla. Trump responded by threatening to cut government subsidies and contracts for Musk’s companies, and things only escalated.

"I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful," Musk said. "But I don’t know if it could be both."

Musk escalated his attacks on the bill Tuesday, calling it a "disgusting abomination," and Trump tried to fend off the criticism.

"He hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that will be next," the president said Thursday in the Oval Office during a meeting with the German chancellor.

Musk hopped on X and expressed his anger at Trump, saying his tariffs "will cause a recession in the second half of this year" and accusing him of lying. He also said it was "very unfair" that the legislation would eliminate tax incentives for electric vehicles.

The Associated Press noted that Trump responded as he tried to maintain momentum for his legislation.

"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," the president posted. "This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress."