Trump Is Open to Speaking With Musk, Won’t Sell His Red Tesla

The bromance may be over, but the president and Tesla CEO Elon Musk keep showing signs of backing off from last week’s very public feud.

On Monday, Trump said “I’d have no problem with it," when asked if he would be willing to speak with Musk. “I’d imagine he wants to speak with me."

Trump also said that he wasn’t going to sell the red Tesla he bought in March, when the two men were on better terms. On Friday, a senior White House official said that he was considering getting rid of the Model S Plaid.

“We may move the Tesla around a little bit," Trump said Monday, without specifying where he might park it. The electric vehicle has been parked outside the White House ever since he bought it.

When asked if he thought Musk was using drugs at the White House, Trump said, “I really don’t know. I don’t think so. I hope not."

Musk quickly replied to the comment, writing on X, “You can tell immediately that someone is a massive liar if they’re claiming I’m on drugs, as I am one of the most photographed people on Earth and am in meetings with a wide array of people 7 days a week!"

Musk has also shown signs of cooling off following Thursday’s social media feud, in which the tech mogul took credit for Trump’s reelection. He also claimed the president was in the Epstein files, referring to the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking minors and took his own life while in jail awaiting trial on federal charges.

Musk deleted both the Epstein post and one suggesting that Trump should be impeached late last week. By Monday, Musk was reposting Trump posts from Truth Social relating to the immigration protests in Los Angeles on his own X account.

The feud started last Tuesday when Musk called the Republican tax-and-spending bill “a disgusting abomination." At one point, Trump threatened to pull Musk’s federal contracts and Musk said he would immediately start decommissioning the SpaceX spacecraft the government relies on to shuttle astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.

Musk later backed down on that threat.

Tesla stock appears to be on the mend as well. While still down 7.1% from last Thursday’s closing price, it has recovered more than half its 14% decline from that day. On Monday, the stock closed above $300 for the first time since Wednesday.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com