Trump: I'm surprised Elon ever endorsed me
Donald Trump said he was 'amazed' that Elon Musk ever endorsed him because of his long-held commitment to demolishing the 'electric vehicle mandate'.
The world's most powerful men entered a war of words trading insults from their respective social media platforms in an explosive row over Mr Trump's flagship spending bill.
Mr Musk, who has since apologised for his insults, called for the president to be impeached and accused the president of being in the Epstein files.
'We're going to abolish the EV mandate, and Elon still endorsed me. Because, honestly, he never, ever spoke to me about that,' Mr Trump said as he signed a measure blocking California's first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
'And I used to say, 'I'm amazed that he's endorsing me, because that can't be good for him.'
'I once asked him about it. 'You never talked to me about that'. He said, 'Well, as long as it's happening to everybody, I'll be able to compete'. It's a very interesting answer.'
'Now we know why Elon doesn't like me so much,' Mr Trump joked.
'Which he does, actually, he does. And he never had a problem.'
The bill signed by Mr Trump which Congress approved last month, aims to quash the country's most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars.
It will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks.
It is the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and Gavin Newsom, California's Governor, over everything from tariffs to the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers.
The president and Mr Newsom have clashed over Mr Trump's move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests.
California, which has some of the nation's worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government.
In his first term, Trump revoked California's ability to enforce its standards, but Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Mr Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again.
'He [Musk] said; 'as long as I'm on the same plan as everybody else, we're going to do good. We make a better product',' Mr Trump added.
'I said, 'That's very cool. That's very good'. That was my answer. After that, he got a little bit strange, but I don't know why.'
Mr Musk apologised to Mr Trump after a phone call with JD Vance, the US vice-president, following their explosive fallout.
The details of the truce between the two men emerged after Mr Musk said publicly on Wednesday that he 'regretted' writing inflammatory posts about the president on social media.
In a podcast episode released the day after the feud erupted, Mr Vance said: 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear – but I hope it is.'
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