Tech billionaire Elon Musk expressed regret on Wednesday for social media posts he made last week that sparked a public dispute with US President Donald Trump. The falling out was triggered by Trump's efforts to pass the "Big Beautiful Deal" that would have increased the US expenditures, which made Musk furious because of his crusade against wasteful spending.
This clash, which became personal on X, disrupted a once-close alliance that positioned Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative focused on reducing federal spending in Trump's second term.
The tech entrepreneur acknowledged on his X social media network that his previous commentary had crossed boundaries. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk stated on the platform.
The conflict had escalated to such an extent that by Saturday, Musk had apparently removed several of his controversial social media posts that had intensified tensions with the administration. Among the deleted content was a post in which he had allegedly referenced Trump's connection to documents related to deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, an accusation the White House had rejected.
The high-profile disagreement played out across both X and Truth Social, the respective social media platforms controlled by Musk and Trump. During the height of the dispute, the president had signaled that he was going to reconsider ending government contracts and financial support provided to Musk's various business enterprises, most notably by potentially stifling crucial regulatory approvals for Tesla's electric vehicle, whose rise in the US is dependent only being allowed to have driverless cars on the interstate freeways.
Market analysts had been closely monitoring the situation due to concerns about how continued friction might affect the substantial government relationships maintained by both Tesla and SpaceX – companies where Elon is a senior executives
The special agency called Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk ran until earlier this month, was a key component of Trump's plans for reducing federal spending and bureaucracy.
