Elon Musk says some of his attacks on Trump 'went too far'

Elon Musk is walking back “some” of his recent broadsides against President Donald Trump, in an apparent attempt to play nice after the Tesla CEO brutally attacked Trump's signature domestic policy bill — and the president personally.

“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week," Musk posted on X early Wednesday morning. "They went too far.” One such post might be the one in which Musk alleged Trump was in the Epstein files, which set X ablaze.

Musk had been signaling recently that he wanted to get back in Trump’s good graces. The Tesla CEO has indicated that he’s on board with the president’s response to the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles; Musk responded to a social media post from Vice President JD Vance with two American flags and reposted some of Trump’s comments that have been critical of California Governor Gavin Newsom.

And the president seems to be taking Musk’s groveling to heart. Trump on Monday said he wished Musk well (“We had a great relationship, and I wish him well — very well, actually,” the president told White House reporters) and said he’d be willing to speak with the Tesla CEO. Musk responded with a heart emoji to a video showing Trump’s remarks.

For the most part, the root of the rift between the once-proclaimed “first buddies” centers on Musk’s criticism of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Musk called it a “disgusting abomination” and said the bill would grow the national debt by $3.8 trillion. The Tesla CEO also said he shouldn’t be blamed for all of Trump’s policies. The president responded by calling Musk “the man who has lost his mind.”

Musk’s attempt to cool the feud comes as his long-awaited robotaxis get ready to launch in Austin, Texas — “tentatively,” Musk wrote — on June 22 (Bloomberg previously reported the launch date as June 12). The Tesla CEO posted a short clip of a robotaxi on the city’s street, which has gotten plenty of buzz, and said the first self-driving Tesla trip would be from the factory to a customer’s house on June 28 (Musk’s 54th birthday).

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a Wednesday note that Musk is starting his “apology tour” with Trump, calling it a “smart move with robotaxi launch on deck.”

He wrote: “Watching the former BFFs turn against each other has been an overhang on shares of Tesla as investors are looking ahead and fearful that Trump in revenge mode will make it more difficult for an autonomous future with Tesla front and center.” Tesla’s shares crated 14% in a single day last week (Thursday) after some of Musk’s posts on X.

Since then, Tesla’s stock price has slowly started climbing — up about 3.42% now over the past five days. A previous analyst note from Wedbush said the company’s shares had been “way oversold” amid the feud.

Ives wrote Wednesday: “While we do not expect Trump and Musk to be back to their Mar-a-Lago connected at the hip days, it would not be a surprise to see Trump and Musk slowly mend the fences (with the help of intermediaries behind closed doors) over the coming months as at the end of the day Trump needs Musk to stay close to the Republican party and Musk needs Trump for many reasons including a green light on a federal framework for autonomous. 

“This is a big first step and a positive for the Tesla story.”

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said recently that the feud between Musk and Trump really showed how deeply Musk’s companies (namely: Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink) rely on the U.S. government. She noted that SpaceX has $22 billion in government contracts, and regulatory decisions on everything from Tesla’s robotaxis to Neurolink’s FDA approval can make or break Musk’s ventures. Regulation of Tesla’s autonomous vehicles, for example, could accelerate dramatically if federal rules replace a state-by-state patchwork.

For Musk, a federal green light might be more valuable than a blue check. The billionaire’s pseudo apology may be personal, but the road ahead is business: Tesla’s future could depend on whether Musk can steer his relationship with Trump back on course.