How the Musk-Trump Relationship Went Off the Rails
The temperature of the Elon Musk-Donald Trump conflict cooled over the weekend, giving investors in Musk’s companies hope that he can avoid lasting damage to his businesses.
Elon Musk’s bets on electric vehicles and rockets delivered some of the biggest payoffs in business history. But his bet on Donald Trump has backfired so spectacularly that it could jeopardize the future of those Musk businesses—unless a seeming weekend ceasefire between the two men can hold.
The unraveling of the relationship between Musk and the U.S. president was weeks in the making, as Musk gradually wore out his welcome in Washington, D.C., and the billionaire became increasingly disenchanted with the administration. Musk had bankrolled Trump’s campaign to retake the White House in part because he believed Trump would help restore fiscal discipline in the federal government while also loosening regulations that he believed were holding back his companies.