Last May, as President Donald Trump and his delegation boarded Air Force One for a visit to China, billionaire Musk was also present.

The head of Tesla and SpaceX, at the time on track to become the world's first trillionaire, shared with Mr. Trump plans to build new factories in the US. Mr. Trump recalled a recently watched space rocket launch video and inquired about Musk's young son.

The American billionaire also reminisced with White House advisors about the interesting time participating in the 2024 presidential election race.

This moment concluded nearly a year of efforts to mend the relationship between Mr. Trump and Musk, after their influential political alliance broke down almost a year prior.

Billionaire Elon Musk appeared with President Donald Trump at Beijing airport, China on 13/5. Photo: AFP

Breakdown

The relationship between Mr. Trump and Musk grew close during the 2024 election campaign. Immediately after Mr. Trump's second term inauguration, Musk assumed a leadership role on the new administration's Government Performance Board (DOGE).

However, Musk's unconventional approach drew criticism and angered officials within the Trump administration, who believed Musk interfered too deeply in agency affairs. His cuts to many programs that millions of Americans relied on also provoked strong reactions, despite Trump insisting for weeks that the two had a good relationship.

The relationship collapsed in early June last year, when behind-the-scenes cracks between them erupted publicly on social media.

Mr. Musk stated that President Trump's name appeared in the investigative files of pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. "That's the real reason they were never made public," he wrote on X at the peak of their conflict.

In response, President Trump threatened to cancel Musk's government contracts and accused him of opposing a significant tax and spending bill because it eliminated incentives for electric vehicles. Musk called this policy package "a disgusting disaster" and argued it would burden the US with more debt.

"Without me, Mr. Trump would have lost the election. How ungrateful," said Musk, who spent nearly 300 million USD to help Mr. Trump's 2024 re-election.

US President Donald Trump (left) and billionaire Elon Musk at the White House in Washington D.C. on 14/3/2025. Photo: AFP

Efforts to salvage the relationship

Publicly, the White House viewed Musk's attacks on Mr. Trump as merely "unfortunate incidents." Behind the scenes, however, senior administration officials scrambled to mend the relationship between the two.

Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles quietly contacted Musk to de-escalate tensions. They believed the situation was already so dire that attempting to mend the relationship would not cause further damage. According to those familiar with the matter, the conversations went quite smoothly.

Billionaire Musk then called Mr. Trump, and the two had a positive conversation. After the call, Musk posted on social media expressing regret for some of his statements, admitting they had gone too far.

Late last summer, Musk abandoned plans to form a new political party, partly to maintain his relationship with Mr. Vance, who is considered a promising candidate for the 2028 presidential race.

The Trump - Musk relationship gradually showed signs of thawing. However, in September 2025, Mr. Trump still told a senior White House official that he was not ready to bring Musk back into his inner circle.

Reconciliation

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had worked to mend Trump - Musk relations in his final months, also contributed to the normalization process.

Mr. Trump and Musk jointly attended Kirk's memorial service in Arizona on 21/9/2025. David Sacks, Trump's technology advisor and an ally of Musk, proposed arranging a meeting for the two, according to sources familiar with the event.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk converse during Charlie Kirk's memorial in Glendale, Arizona, on 21/9/2025. Photo: AP

Musk went to Mr. Trump's private room at the stadium and had a brief conversation with the President. Mr. Trump patted Musk's elbow as the entrepreneur departed. Later, on Air Force One, Mr. Trump recounted this exchange, describing it as quite interesting, according to sources.

The American billionaire also posted a photo on X of him conversing with the President at the memorial, with the caption: "For Charlie."

In November 2025, signs of thawing relations appeared when Musk returned to the White House for a dinner hosted by Mr. Trump to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he and Musk would never be as close as before, according to the President's aides. Nevertheless, they began talking about once a month to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), China, and world events.

In recent months, Mr. Trump has consistently praised Musk publicly. After Musk officially became a trillionaire, the President sent him a congratulatory letter.

The calculations behind the scenes

This revived relationship could bring benefits to both parties.

According to those familiar with the situation, Mr. Vance believed Musk was an important figure whom the administration could hardly ignore. A complete breakdown of this relationship could have major consequences, as SpaceX contracts are directly related to national defense and security.

If Democrats gain control of Congress, they are prepared to launch a series of investigations targeting the President and his family. Musk, heavily dependent on lucrative government contracts, could also fall under scrutiny.

President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, billionaire Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and others at an event at the Kennedy Center on 19/11/2025. Photo: AP

Heading into the midterm elections in November, Musk plans to donate to America PAC, an organization he founded to fund Mr. Trump's 2024 campaigns. He also plans to invest at least 100 million USD in voter mobilization efforts in battleground states, according to Axios and The New York Times.

America PAC will coordinate with MAGA Inc., Mr. Trump's main supporting political action committee, which currently holds over 400 million USD.

However, Musk signaled that he would not have as high a public profile as in the previous election or during his controversial role at DOGE.

"I think I got a little too involved in politics. Honestly, I overdid it," Musk shared with The Economist last month.

Thanh Tam (According to WSJ, Fox, Reuters)