President Donald Trump said he is “very disappointed” with Elon Musk’s criticism of the Big, Beautiful Bill he has championed.
The president made the comment while speaking to reporters from the White House on Thursday. Trump said Musk “hasn’t said bad [things] about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next.”
He then added: “But I’m very disappointed and I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
President Trump’s comments come after Musk has been ripping the Trump-backed bill on X, the social media platform he owns, in recent days. On Tuesday, Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” that would hit the American public with “crushingly unsustainable debt.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later that day said the president had shrugged off Musk’s comments.
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn’t change the president’s opinion,” Leavitt said.
President Trump’s feelings have changed since then. Before the president’s comment to the press on Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson a day earlier said Trump was “not delighted” with Musk’s criticism of the bill.
Things appeared to be all good just a week ago between the president and Musk, with Trump presenting the Tesla and SpaceX boss a gold key to the White House to celebrate his official exit from the Trump Administration. President Trump lauded Musk for the work he did leading the Department of Government Efficiency, which aimed to cut $1 trillion-$2 trillion from the federal budget.
“Elon gave an incredible service,” President Trump said last week. “Nobody liked him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he’s an incredible patriot.”
Tesla investors do not appear to be thrilled with the sudden Trump-Musk rift. The electric car company’s stock price is down 5.50% by midday Thursday, and down nearly 12% in the past week.
You can watch the clip of Trump’s comments on Musk in the video above.
