'Credit where credit is due,' Elon Musk said in a Wednesday X post
Trump warns DOGE 'monster' might need to 'go back and eat Elon' as Musk feud continues
President Donald Trump warned tech billionaire Elon Musk that the Department of Government Efficiency might investigate and "eat Elon" as Trump says Musk is upset over his moves ending electric vehicle mandates.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk put a pause on bashing President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," and issued some praise for the president after an announcement that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with Gaza.
Musk has been highly critical of Trump’s massive tax and domestic policy package that the Senate passed Tuesday — hours after Trump said he’d have to "take a look" at deporting Musk, who is a U.S. citizen but was born in South Africa.
However, despite the public attacks following Musk’s departure from heading up the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in May, Musk still offered a stamp of approval for Trump’s handling of global conflict.
"Credit where credit is due. @realDonaldTrump has successfully resolved several serious conflicts around the world," Musk said in an early Wednesday morning post on X.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, left, put a pause on bashing President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" and issued some praise for the president after a recent Gaza ceasefire announcement. (Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters)
Musk also shared a screenshot of Trump’s post on Truth Social announcing Tuesday that members of his team had a "long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza," and that Israel had agreed to terms for a 60-day ceasefire.
Tensions between Musk and Trump first boiled over in May due to differences related to Trump’s massive tax and spending package amid reports the measure would increase the federal deficit. However, Musk historically has waffled between attacking Trump and then following up with attempts to smooth things over with the president.
Just after Musk’s DOGE departure, they traded barbs over the "big, beautiful bill," prompting Musk to say that Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election without his backing. In turn, Trump accused Musk of going "CRAZY" over cuts to the electric vehicle credits, and said that Musk had been "wearing thin."
Days later, Musk shared a Truth Social post from Trump regarding the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles, and re-posted one of Vice President JD Vance’s posts on X about the riots.
"This moment calls for decisive leadership," Vance said, sharing a screenshot of a post from Trump about how his administration would address the riots. "The president will not tolerate rioting and violence."
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS STAND FIRM AGAINST MUSK'S 'KILL THE BILL' ASSAULT ON TRUMP'S AGENDA
President Donald Trump, left, bought a Tesla from Musk at the White House as a show of support earlier in 2025 when the electric vehicle-maker faced consumer backlash over Elon Musk's political work in March. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Tensions between Musk and Trump appeared to dissolve for much of June, but resurfaced as the "big, beautiful bill" edged closer to passage.
Musk has threatened in recent days to back challengers to Republicans who voted for Trump's tax and spending bill, and went so far as to call for a new political party.
"It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS, that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people," Musk posted on X Monday.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to dismiss Musk’s criticism of the measure, claiming Musk isn’t pleased with it because it eliminates an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Tesla.
'HE'S NOT A BIG FACTOR': TRUMP'S SENATE ALLIES DISMISS ELON MUSK'S CALLS TO 'KILL THE BILL'
Tensions between President Donald Trump, left, and Elon Musk appeared to dissolve for much of June, but resurfaced as the "big, beautiful bill" edged closer to passage. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
"Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate," Trump said in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday. "It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa."
Later that morning, Trump told reporters that he would "take a look" at deporting Musk, and that he might have DOGE evaluate the government subsidies Tesla receives.
"We might have to put DOGE on Elon," Trump told reporters at the White House Tuesday. "You know what DOGE is? The monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies."
"So tempting to escalate this," Musk said in response to a video of Trump’s comment on X Tuesday. "So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now."
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
