President Donald Trump is not interested in speaking with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to settle their growing dispute, a senior White House official told NBC News on Friday.
The conflict between the two high-profile figures intensified Thursday after Trump threatened to cut off federal contracts with Musk’s companies. The move came in response to Musk's ongoing criticism of Trump’s proposed tax legislation, currently under Senate review.
Musk, who until recently served as an adviser in the Trump administration and led the Department of Government Efficiency, initially said SpaceX would decommission its Dragon spacecraft in response to Trump’s threat. However, he later reversed that decision.
The feud escalated with Trump calling Musk “crazy” and suggesting that his presence in the administration had become a liability. Musk fired back, claiming that Trump owed his presidency in part to Musk’s financial support and accused him of being ungrateful and dishonest.
“I’m not even thinking about Elon,” Trump said in an interview with CNN. “He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem. No, I won’t be speaking to him for a while, I guess, but I wish him well.”
Reports had suggested that White House aides were working to arrange a call between the two to de-escalate the situation. However, Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, dismissed that, telling NBC News there were “no plans for that today.”
Another administration official acknowledged the tension, stating, “There could be anything — I’d like to de-escalate a very unfortunate situation,” but confirmed that, as of now, “There are no calls on the books.” Photo by The White House, Wikimedia commons.
