President Donald Trump criticized Elon Musk on Thursday and suggested a fray in their relationship amidst Musk's attack on the GOP "Big Beautiful" spending bill.
"Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump told reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office. "I don't know if we will anymore."
Musk slammed the GOP megabill, which passed the House and aims to push Trump's legislative agenda, calling it a "disgusting abomination" on X/Twitter.
"Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate and, you know, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles," Trump offered.
Cutting the electric vehicle tax credit would hurt car makers like Musk's Tesla, which has taken a financial hit since Musk took a role in the White House. Other pain points that may have caused Musk to lash out on Trump's bill include Musk wanting the FAA to use his Starlink satellite system for air traffic control and Trump withdrawing the nomination of a Musk ally to be NASA administrator, per Axios.
"I can understand why he's upset," the president said about Musk. "You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval Desk."
"Even with the black eye, I said, 'Do you want a little makeup?'" Trump added, a reference to the black eye Musk recently sported during his final day as a special government employee. "But he said, 'No, I don't think so.'"
"He's worn the hat," the president said. "'Trump was right about everything.' And I am right about the great, big, beautiful bill."
