President Donald Trump was seen with Tesla[1] CEO Elon Musk at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, a few months after the two once-close allies had a spectacular falling-out.
On Sunday, top Republicans and conservatives gathered in Glendale, Ariz., where tens of thousands of people filled up the State Farm Stadium to remember Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10.
Before Trump took the stage to address the crowd, Musk went up to the president where he was sitting and sat down in an empty seat next to him. They were seen shaking hands and chatting.
On X afterward[2], Musk posted a picture of the two talking with the words “For Charlie.”
It was the first time Trump and Musk were seen together since June, when they feuded in public over the president’s tax and spending plan.
As the One Big Beautiful Bill was moving through Congress, Musk had been trashing it for adding to the U.S. debt and ending tax incentives for electric vehicles and solar energy modules, which Tesla sells.
By June, his displeasure had reached a tipping point. As the feud broke out in public and online, Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, took credit for Trump’s election victory, and said his tariffs would cause a recession later this year.
He also said Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files and said he would take his SpaceX[3] rockets, which the federal government increasingly relies on, out of service.
Charly Triballeau—AFP via Getty Images
For his part, Trump threatened to turn Musk’s own Department of Government Efficiency on the tech billionaire’s companies and look into any subsidies they received.
While Musk appeared to de-escalate, Trump suggested that their relationship was over. In an interview with NBC News[4], Trump was asked if he has any desire to mend his relationship with Musk, and the president replied, “No.” And when asked if he thinks his relationship with Musk is over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”
He added that he has “no intention of speaking” to Musk anytime soon, saying: “I’m too busy doing other things,” and accused Musk of disrespecting the presidency.
It marked a dramatic turnaround after Musk had become the biggest donor to Republicans in the 2024 election cycle, a top adviser in the White House, and head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Kirk predicted over the summer that at some point Musk and Trump would reconcile, saying “they’re much stronger together.”
And on Sunday, Kirk’s widow Erika delivered a message of forgiveness, saying she even forgives the shooter who killed her husband.
During Trump’s speech that followed, he acknowledged Kirk’s “noble spirit” but admitted he couldn’t be the same.
“I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them,” Trump said. “I’m sorry. I am sorry Erika, but now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponent.”
References
- ^ Tesla (fortune.com)
- ^ On X afterward (x.com)
- ^ SpaceX (fortune.com)
- ^ interview with NBC News (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ Apply for an invitation. (conferences.fortune.com)