Elon Musk has publicly expressed regret over certain posts he made about President Donald Trump, acknowledging that some of his comments “went too far.” The controversy began after Musk resigned from his advisory role in the Trump administration and criticized Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a significant tax and spending proposal. Musk’s remarks included calling the bill a “disgusting abomination” and even suggesting impeachment, which led to a sharp response from Trump, including threats to cancel $22 billion in SpaceX federal contracts. In the face of escalating tensions, Musk deleted some of his critical posts and later apologized, stating, “I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far.” This public apology appears to be an attempt by Musk to de-escalate the situation and repair his relationship with Trump, which had deteriorated following the dispute. The fallout from the feud had significant financial implications, with Tesla’s stock dropping nearly 15% over the past week, resulting in an estimated $34 billion decrease in Musk’s net worth. However, following Musk’s conciliatory message, Tesla shares rebounded slightly, rising by 2.3%. The timing of Musk’s apology is notable, coming just before Tesla’s anticipated launch of a “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas. Analysts suggest that Musk’s previous alignment with Trump had initially boosted Tesla’s market value, particularly regarding expectations for government support of autonomous driving technology. Despite the apology, the relationship between Musk and Trump remains strained, with Trump declaring their relationship likely over. Musk’s father has also commented that his son suffers from PTSD after his time in the administration and predicted Musk would lose any confrontation with Trump. This development underscores the delicate balance between political affiliations and business interests for high-profile CEOs like Musk.
