Tension between Trump and Elon Musk subsides as he retracts promise to withdraw federal funding from his businesses
In a public spat that took place on June 5, President Trump suggested clawing back federal monies from Elon Musk's companies, including Tesla stock. However, recent developments suggest that the relationship between the two may be mending, with Trump expressing a desire for Musk and all US businesses to thrive.
Despite the tensions, the federal government has continued to partner with Musk's SpaceX for years. In November, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the company had received $22 billion in government contracts to date. More recently, in April alone, SpaceX received $5.9 billion in contracts from the Pentagon. This is not surprising, given that SpaceX's Starlink internet services power several federal agencies.
Musk's SpaceX has been a key player in the improvement of GPS satellites and space travel for the government. This partnership has been ongoing for several years, with the federal government awarding the company billions for these projects.
Meanwhile, Musk's electric vehicle company, Tesla, has also benefitted from government support. While there are no specific details about subsidies or contracts that Musk has received from the U.S. government in recent years, Tesla has earned $11.4 billion from selling electric vehicle regulatory credits to other companies, as estimated by The Washington Post in February. Additionally, Tesla has benefitted from electric vehicle subsidies offered by states like California.
The West Wing tiff between Musk and Trump has not resulted in any public appearances together since the incident. However, Trump stated that he could potentially get back on good terms with Musk, but only after straightening out the country, according to a statement made on June 11. Trump also expressed a desire to move on from the back-and-forth with Musk, stating that his sole focus is on getting the country back to a higher level than ever before.
In a more recent development, ten days ago, one of Musk's companies, xAI, was awarded a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense. This award comes amidst Trump's expressed desire for the USA to continue setting records and for US businesses, including Tesla stock, to thrive.
Despite the initial threat from Trump to claw back federal monies from Musk's companies, it appears that the relationship between the two may be improving. With SpaceX and Tesla continuing to play significant roles in the government's space travel and electric vehicle sectors respectively, it will be interesting to see how this relationship develops in the future.
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