June 8, 2025 2:58 AM
"I guess so," Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday when asked if he thought the close relationship between the two was over.
Asked if he wanted to repair the damaged relationship, he said "no".
The comments were Trump's latest since a heated exchange between him and Musk on social media.
The tech billionaire had earlier publicly criticized the president's tax and spending bill, one of Trump's key domestic policies. Musk previously donated millions of dollars to Trump's campaign and became a White House adviser.
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Most Republicans have sided with President Trump. Vice President J.D. Vance said Musk "has completely lost his temper" and may never be accepted back into the fold.
Vance said in an interview with podcast host Theo Von that it was a "huge mistake" for the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX to attack the president.
For weeks, Musk has been criticizing Trump's signature bill, the Big Beautiful Bill, which is being considered by Congress.
Shortly after leaving his post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) after just 129 days, Musk posted on his social media platform X that the bill was "disgusting" but did not directly criticize Trump.
However, on Thursday, Trump told reporters that he was "disappointed" with Musk's behavior.
Musk then posted a series of posts on X, claiming that Trump would have lost the election without his help and accusing Trump of being involved with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died in prison on charges of human trafficking.
Musk later deleted the post, and Epstein's lawyers also came out to deny the allegations.
Trump responded on his social media platform Truth Social, saying Musk had "gone crazy." In one post, he even threatened to terminate Musk's contract with the federal government.
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump said Musk was "disrespectful" to the presidency.
"I think it's a very bad thing because he is very disrespectful to the president. You can't disrespect the presidency. You can't disrespect the presidency," Trump said.
Musk, the world's richest man, donated about $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign.
During the social media dispute, he hinted that he might support Trump's opponent in next year's midterm elections, backing challengers of congressional members who oppose Trump's bills.
When asked if Musk might support Democratic candidates who are opposed to Republicans, Trump said he would face "serious consequences."