Key Points

Taking to his official handle on X (formerly Twitter), Musk posted, "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far."

Meanwhile, Trump warned Musk of "serious consequences" if he funds Democratic candidates running against Republicans backing the GOP's budget bill, escalating tensions between the two influential figures.

Speaking to NBC News in a phone interview on Saturday, Trump said, "If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that." However, he refused to elaborate on what those consequences might be.

He added, "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that." Trump further clarified he had no desire to repair ties with Musk after their public fallout.

When asked whether he wished to reconnect with Musk, Trump responded, "No."

When asked if his relationship with Musk was over, Trump replied, "I would assume so, yeah."

Trump made it clear he had no plans to speak with Musk anytime soon, stating, "I'm too busy doing other things," and added, "I have no intention of speaking to him," NBC News reported.

He accused Musk of being "disrespectful to the office of the President," saying, "I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President."

Musk had targeted Trump in a series of posts shared on X last Thursday, including a now-deleted post, where he referenced Trump's past association with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

On Saturday, Trump responded by saying, "That's called 'old news,' that's been old news, that has been talked about for years." He added, "Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news."

Elon Musk had previously served for 130 days as a "special government employee" leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Since his exit, he has been critical of Trump's spending bill.

Responding to Musk's criticism, Trump told reporters on Thursday, "I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot."

In the days following this, Musk launched a series of attacks on Trump via X, including a now-deleted post that supported a call for Trump's impeachment. Another post warned that Trump's tariff agenda could trigger a recession later this year.

In retaliation, Trump shared several posts on his social media platform, Truth Social. One post read, "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," implying Musk had been aware of the bill's contents before its passage.

Trump also threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's companies. In a Truth Social post, he wrote, "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it."

On Saturday, Trump clarified that he had not yet acted on the suggestion to cancel federal contracts with Musk's companies, saying, "I'd be allowed to do that," but admitted, "I haven't given it any thought."

Musk had been a major financial backer of Trump during last year's elections, reportedly spending over a quarter of a billion dollars to support him in swing states, NBC News reported.

In the early months of Trump's presidency, Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency, where he oversaw mass layoffs and closures of several federal agencies.

Trump believes the feud with Musk has inadvertently highlighted the benefits of his budget bill. "I think Elon brought out the strengths of the bill because people who weren't as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is," he said. "So in that sense, there was a big favour. But I think Elon, I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken."

Musk's recent criticisms come at a crucial time for what Trump calls his "big, beautiful bill", which includes extensive tax cuts and increased military spending. The bill was narrowly passed in the House of Representatives last month, with only three Republicans voting against it, amidst unified Democratic opposition.

- ANI