President Trump explained how Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in the loop about plans to abolish the EV mandate.
President Donald Trump claimed his relationship with Elon Musk changed after he spoke about his plans to eliminate the electic vehicle mandate.
While signing legislation to overturn California’s electric vehicle mandate Thursday, Trump explained to members of the media he was surprised Musk, whom he referred to as a “friend,” didn’t bring up his concerns with Trump’s plan to abolish the mandate.
Trump said he was surprised Musk endorsed him given his efforts to block states from phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles. The trio of congressional resolutions signed Thursday thwart California’s plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035.
Trump ended a waiver issued by the Biden-era EPA that mandated at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles in California by 2035, a resolution ending the Biden-era EPA’s approval of a plan to increase the number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in California and another on California’s low-nitrogen oxide regulations for heavy-duty vehicles, including off-road vehicles.
MUSK DOES ABOUT FACE IN TRUMP BATTLE
Musk, who stepped down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month, reassured Trump that “as long as I’m on the same plane as everybody else, we’re going to do good. We make a better product.”
“I said, ‘That’s very cool. It’s very good.’ That was my answer. After that, he got a little bit strange … over much smaller things,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump takes questions after signing a series of bills related to California’s vehicle emission standards during an event in the East Room of the White House June 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump and Musk’s good relationship began to unravel in recent weeks with them throwing personal insults at each other. The war of words began after Musk departed DOGE and slammed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
It was an about-face from the campaign trail and the early days of Trump’s second term, when the Tesla CEO and Trump became close confidants and Musk was tapped to lead a massive cost-cutting effort at numerous government agencies.
Elon Musk during a news conference with President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., May 30, 2025. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Musk was hired as a “special government employee” and was permitted to work for the federal government for “no more than 130 days in a 365-day period,” according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk’s 130-day window ended May 30.
ELON MUSK, TRUMP AND A MAGA FRIENDSHIP THAT WENT SOUTH
Elon Musk at Trump’s address to Congress (Getty Images / Getty Images)
During Musk’s time in government, Trump defended the business magnate as people were targeting Tesla owners in protest of DOGE cuts, even showcasing his red Tesla outside the White House. He praised Musk for a successful SpaceX launch, and the duo sat ringside at a UFC fight, alongside CEO Dana White.
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Last week, Trump claimed Musk was upset because of scrapped EV tax credits and a refusal to hire Musk’s NASA pick, Jared Isaacman, supposedly due to Isaacman’s past donations to Democratic political candidates. Musk fired back, attempting to link Trump to disgraced pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, while also saying Trump’s tariffs will cause a recession.
FOX News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.