Reconciled Again? Trump Describes Relationship with Musk as "Good" After Months - What Happened

This week, Trump told reporters aboard the presidential plane that since they both attended the funeral of Arizona conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month, they have maintained "sporadic" contact, describing their relationship as "good."

Trump specifically mentioned that Musk's public confrontation with him was a "very stupid" moment in Musk's life, but stated that he himself had "always liked" Musk and said he probably "always will."

Over the past few months, Musk has maintained a lower profile in the political arena, a shift stemming from the commercial backlash resulting from his high-profile political engagement. According to a new working paper released this week by Yale University economists through the National Bureau of Economic Research, had it not been for Musk's clearly partisan political behavior, Tesla's sales in the U.S. market could have grown by 67% to 83% between October 2022 and April 2025, equivalent to approximately 1 million to 1.26 million more vehicles sold.

As the largest individual donor to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, Musk not only established a Super PAC, contributing a total of $277 million, but also served as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency after Trump took office. However, after his term as a special government employee expired in May of this year, Musk's expressed desire to remain in the role was not approved by the White House.

On October 27, Trump said on his plane: "At Charlie's tribute, Elon was there too. (I'm) good with him, I like Elon; I've always liked him, it's all good." He further commented: "He's a good guy, and a very capable guy. I've always liked him." Trump characterized their previous rift as a "bad day" for Musk, adding: "That was a stupid moment in his life, really stupid. I'm sure he'd tell you that too."