Elon Musk has publicly ruminated on last week’s billion-dollar-tweet blunder. He’s not afraid to own up to when he screws up. The comments come after a very public spat that has damaged Musk’s companies. Tesla was hit the hardest and recorded its largest loss of market capitalization following the feud. Musk unleashed a hail of criticism with his preferred medium, on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which he owns.
In his statement, Musk noted, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.” This admission is a big deal given how worried, including within the administration, people are about what his social media activity means for his business interests. The spat between the two political heavyweights played out simultaneously on X, now known as Twitter, and on Trump’s Truth Social platform, adding fuel to the fire.
The conflict was ignited when Musk tweeted back a “yes” to an account that suggested impeaching Trump. The recommendation, naturally enough, was Vice President JD Vance to step in. This specific post, as well as other incendiary contributions that stoked the fire of the conflict, have since been removed. In that exchange, Trump threatened to cancel government contracts and subsidies given to Musk’s companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX.
Market analysts are understandably worried about the ramifications of this scuffle. They worry that it might damage the prospects for Musk’s various enterprises. Tesla’s stock price cratered almost as soon as the news was posted. This move left investors scrambling, particularly in light of the tumultuous and sometimes combative rapport between Musk and Trump.
Musk’s allegations against Trump included claims that Trump was mentioned in the “files” of the late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. This claim brought yet more fire to their already contentious connection. The feud became a bitter rancor almost instantly, fracturing what had once been a tight-knit collaboration. This collaboration was supposed to have resulted in Musk’s installation as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Trump’s second term.
Despite this ongoing friction between them, Trump signaled his intention to keep Musk’s Starlink technology at the White House. SpaceX, one of Musk’s other ventures, delivers this satellite internet service, which has received acclaim for its quality and innovation.
Their very public dispute uncovers a bitter personal feud. It raises alarms about what might come next for Musk’s corporate interests as political pressure mounts. The dark merging of personal vendettas and corporate machinations has caused many watching this debacle to fear the spilled blood that may result.