Trump Musk feud updates: The split has rattled US politics and markets
Wall Street opens higher and Tesla shares gain
09:53 EDT
Reuters markets team
U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Friday after a strong jobs report calmed worries over the health of the labor market.
Tesla shares also rebounded, and were up about 5% in early trading.
Musk signaled on his X social media platform he was open to easing tensions with Trump, agreeing with comments from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman calling for a detente.
The spat between the world's most powerful man and its richest erased more than $150 billion from Tesla's market value on Thursday, the company's biggest drop in one session.
Short-sellers, or investors betting against the stock, pocketed nearly $4 billion from the drop, the second-biggest single-day of profit on record, according to data from Ortex.
"It might be a bit too hopeful to think their relationship will ever go back to what it once was, but if cooler heads prevail and the tension eases, that would definitely be a big improvement for Tesla," said Tesla shareholder Matthew Britzman, who is an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
From bros to foes: how the Trump-Musk relationship imploded
10 minutes ago
09:45 EDT
Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason
When Trump met privately with White House officials on Wednesday, there was little to suggest that the U.S. president was close to a public break with Musk.
So how did we get here?
Two White House officials familiar with the matter said Trump expressed confusion and frustration in the meeting about Musk's attacks on his sweeping tax and spending bill.
But he held back, the officials said, because he wanted to preserve Musk's political and financial support ahead of the midterm elections.
By Thursday afternoon, Trump's mood had shifted.
He had not spoken to Musk since the attacks began and was fuming over what one White House aide described as a "completely batshit" tirade by Musk on X, his social media platform.
The Tesla CEO had blasted Trump's tax bill as fiscally reckless and a "disgusting abomination."
He vowed to oppose any Republican lawmaker who supported it.
The bill would fulfill many of Trump's priorities while adding, according to the Congressional Budget Office, $2.4 trillion to the $36.2-trillion U.S. public debt.
Privately, Trump had called Musk volatile.
On Thursday, he told his team it was time to take the gloves off.
Sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed" in his former adviser.
Musk quickly hit back on social media, and then the back-and-forth devolved from there.
How Tesla stock reacted Thursday
17 minutes ago
09:38 EDT
Tesla shares went into free-fall on Thursday as Trump publicly feuded with the electric vehicle maker's billionaire CEO Elon Musk, his self-proclaimed "First Buddy."
Investors watched the unfolding drama with growing worry about what the fracas could mean for Musk's business empire. The carmaker's shares ended the day down 14%, wiping off $150 billion in market value on a day absent other news about the company.
Openly feuding with Trump could pose multiple hurdles for Tesla and the rest of Musk's sprawling business empire.
The U.S. Transportation Department regulates vehicle design standards and would have a big say in whether Tesla can mass-produce robotaxis without pedals and steering wheels.
18 minutes ago
09:38 EDT
Nandita Bose
President Donald Trump and his former ally Elon Musk conducted an extraordinary day of hostilities on Thursday - largely over social media - marking a stark end to a close alliance.
The verbal punches erupted after Trump criticized Musk in the Oval Office. The pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms: Trump's Truth Social and Musk's X.
The falling-out had begun brewing days ago when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
Shares in Musk's Tesla will be closely watched on Friday. They closed down 14% on Thursday, losing about $150 billion in market value in the largest single-day decline in value in the electric vehicle maker's history.
Trump is not interested in talking with Musk, a White House official said on Friday, adding that no phone call between the two men is planned for the day.
A separate White House official had said earlier that Trump and Musk were going to talk to each other on Friday.
Stay with us for the latest developments as we get them.
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