Tesla stock rebounds as Trump, Musk feud shows signs of cooling
Electric vehicle giant Tesla’s stock is on the rebound Friday morning as the public spat between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump shows signs of cooling.
The company’s stock went up by over 5 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after Politico reported late Thursday that Trump’s aides scheduled a call with Musk on Friday to tamp down the tensions, which escalated to new heights over social media.
When asked about the bitter back-and-forth between himself and the tech billionaire, his close ally and megadonor, Trump told Politico, “Oh, it’s OK."
“It’s going very well, never done better,” the president told the outlet.
“The numbers are through the roof, the highest polls I’ve ever had, and I have to go,” he added.
The rebound of Tesla’s stock comes less than 24 hours after the shares of the prominent EV company plunged as Trump and Musk traded barbs in a public feud that appeared to severely strain the relationship between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful leader.
Musk intensified his criticism of Trump’s signature “big, beautiful bill” and later claimed that Trump would not have been victorious in the 2024 presidential election if it were not for the billionaire’s political contributions.
The president then called the billionaire “crazy” and threatened to cut billions of dollars of federal contracts with the tech mogul's companies. Musk then escalated the spat, accusing the president of being named in the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein’s files.
The SpaceX CEO also backed calls for Trump to be impeached and for Vice President Vance to become the leader of the U.S. and threatened to ground spacecraft used to shuttle astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station.
“I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given."
“If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68 percent Tax Increase, and things far worse than that,” he added. “I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness.”
The clash prompted allies of both men to try to broker peace, with Musk seemingly agreeing to pull back.
“I support @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country,” hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wrote Thursday on social platform X — which Musk also owns. “We are much stronger together than apart.”
You’re not wrong,” Musk wrote in response.