Report: Musk Retreated After Monday Phone Call

Before Elon Musk's public mea culpa regarding some of his inflammatory posts about President Trump, he apparently had a private conversation with Trump himself. Sources tell outlets including CNN, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal that on Friday, Vice President JD Vance and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, both spoke to Musk on the phone and urged him to smooth things over with Trump. On Monday, the sources say, Musk called Trump and the two spoke for the first time since things went sour between them, though the conversation reportedly lasted mere "moments." On Wednesday, Musk deleted some of his posts about Trump and said he regretted some of the things he'd said that "went too far."

The sources say other Trump allies and GOP lawmakers have also privately reached out to Musk to encourage him to fix things with Trump and also support the president's "big beautiful bill," on which their falling-out centered. Musk was reportedly open to their thoughts but still insisted the bill needs to include more spending cuts. As for Trump, he told the New York Post in response to Musk's Wednesday statement of regret, "I thought it was very nice that he did that." (More Elon Musk stories.)