After The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times pushed out headlines on Wednesday suggesting a possible end to the Musk-Trump feud, President Trump confirmed the cooling of tensions by calling Elon Musk a “friend” while speaking to reporters ahead of plans to abolish California’s vehicle emissions standards.
Trump praised Musk for not demanding any favors ahead of the administration’s move to eliminate EV tax credits.
The president said Musk was okay with ending the credits and letting the market determine supply and demand, confident he could outperform competitors such as legacy OEMs in the EV space, Rivian, and Lucid.
Recall that last July, Musk publicly supported Trump’s move to eliminate EV mandates, calling it a major win for Tesla.