“I was surprised he endorsed me, given how hard I’m pushing back on these forced EV mandates,” Trump said. “We had a good relationship. He didn’t bring it up to me.”
The new legislation signed Thursday effectively blocks California’s plan to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. It also ends a Biden-era EPA waiver requiring that 80% of new vehicles sold in California be electric by that year. Additionally, Trump reversed regulations intended to increase the number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and nullified California’s low-nitrogen oxide regulations on heavy-duty and off-road vehicles.
As Trump put it, “California was trying to tell Americans what they can and cannot drive. We stopped that today.”
In public comments, Musk struck a more measured tone following Trump’s move, telling the former president, “As long as I’m on the same plane as everybody else, we’re going to do good. We make a better product.”
Trump recounted their exchange, saying, “I said, ‘That’s very cool. It’s very good.’ That was my answer. But after that, Elon got a little bit strange … over much smaller things.”
The relationship between the two high-profile figures has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks. What once appeared to be a political and personal alliance has devolved into a public feud, marked by sharp insults and pointed accusations.
The falling out began after Musk resigned from his post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role he had assumed early in Trump’s second term. Following his departure, Musk blasted Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
It was a stark reversal from the campaign trail and the early days of the administration, when Trump and Musk had grown close. At one point, Musk was a trusted adviser tasked with spearheading a major cost-cutting initiative across several federal agencies.
During Musk’s brief government service, he was appointed as a “special government employee” with permission to work no more than 130 days in a calendar year, according to the Office of Government Ethics. Musk’s government service window officially ended May 30.
While Musk was part of the administration, Trump repeatedly defended the Tesla and SpaceX CEO against public criticism. When Tesla owners were targeted by protesters opposing DOGE budget cuts, Trump showcased his own red Tesla outside the White House as a show of support. He also publicly praised Musk following a successful SpaceX launch, and the two were frequently spotted together at high-profile events — including sitting ringside at a UFC fight alongside UFC President Dana White.
But last week, tensions escalated further. Trump claimed Musk was angry over the administration’s decision to eliminate EV tax credits and its refusal to appoint Musk’s preferred NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman — a choice reportedly blocked due to Isaacman’s past donations to Democratic candidates.
Musk, in turn, responded sharply, attempting to link Trump to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein while warning that Trump’s tariff policies could trigger an economic recession.
The sharp deterioration in their relationship has become a headline-grabbing subplot in the increasingly polarized national debate over climate policy, industrial regulation, and the future of the automotive industry.
As Trump positions himself as a champion of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles and American manufacturing, Musk appears poised to renew his push for market-driven EV adoption, even as political winds shift.
For now, a friendship that once symbolized a surprising alliance between Silicon Valley and MAGA conservatives has become yet another casualty of the 2025 political battlefield.