President Trump extended an olive branch to his friend-turned-critic Elon Musk on Thursday, saying he has no intention of crushing his companies, but rather, would like to see them “THRIVE.”
His comment stands out, considering Tesla’s stock is down big on Thursday morning, following an underwhelming second quarter earnings report a day earlier.
But rather than rub salt in the wound, the president, in a Truth Social post soon after markets opened, said he wants Tesla and Musk’s other companies to do well because that is good for the whole country.
“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!” Trump posted. “I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before!”
He added: “The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!”
President Trump’s post also stands out, considering the public fallout the two have had since Musk exited the White House at the end of May. Musk had been leading the new Department of Government Efficiency for Trump, and the two seemed to be old chums during a joint interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News in February.
But that all went out the window recently, as Musk repeatedly criticized the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill.” The Tesla and SpaceX boss also got personal, claiming Trump was named in the Epstein Files and that was why he had not released them to the public. The president, meanwhile, has said Musk is upset that tax credits for electric vehicles are being taken away by the Big Beautiful Bill.
Tesla’s stock is down 8.7% an hour into trading on Thursday, following the release of its Q2 report a day earlier. Car sales were down $3.2 billion during the quarter for Tesla compared to the same quarter last year, and the company’s stock price is down 20% year-to-date.
