Elon Musk contacted former U.S. President Donald Trump in a private phone call on June 10, just hours before posting a public apology for his recent online criticism. A White House source confirmed to Reuters that this was the first direct conversation between the two since their fallout the previous week.
At 3:04 a.m. on June 11, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to express regret, writing that his earlier posts about Trump had gone too far. He didn’t name any specific post, but earlier in the week, Musk had shared unverified accusations linking Trump to classified documents and Jeffrey Epstein. He had also voiced support for Trump’s impeachment. Both posts were later deleted.
Sources from the Wall Street Journal and Axios reported that Trump’s allies, including Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, had urged Musk on June 6 to de-escalate the situation.
This outreach followed Musk’s recent resignation from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, where he had led efforts to cut federal programs during the early months of Trump’s second term. Despite receiving a warm farewell, relations between the two figures soon deteriorated.
Even with the tension, Musk has since backed Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles after ICE-related protests and has eased his criticism of Trump’s controversial tax bill—a package he once condemned as a “disgusting abomination.” Trump had nicknamed it his “big, beautiful bill.”
Trump also appeared to soften his stance. In a podcast released on June 11, he remarked, “I was disappointed in him. But it is what it is. Things like that happen. I don’t blame him for anything.”
