President Donald Trump revealed that his relationship with Elon Musk has significantly improved following their highly publicized and dramatic falling out earlier this month.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump suggested that Musk’s frustration with his administration was primarily tied to provisions in the president’s “big, beautiful” tax cut bill, which aim to phase out generous electric vehicle mandates. Musk is the founder of Tesla, the leading electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States.
“I think he’s a wonderful guy,” Trump said about his former advisor, though adding he “hasn’t spoken to him much” since Musk departed the White House. “I think he’s a wonderful guy, and I know he’s going to do well always. He’s a smart guy, and he actually went and campaigned with me… But he got a little bit upset, and that wasn’t appropriate.”
“Why did he get upset? He just wasn’t getting what he wanted?” asked host Maria Bartiromo. “Look, the electric vehicle mandate, EV mandate, is a tough thing for him, I would think,” Trump replied. “I don’t want everybody to have to have an electric car.”
Most notably, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would eliminate the federal rebate of $7,500 for new electric vehicle purchases and $4,000 for used EVs. According to Bankrate, an estimated 87% of EV buyers took advantage of these incentives in 2024.
“I campaigned on ‘you have a choice.’ If you want a gasoline-powered [car], if you want a hybrid… I love the electric cars. I love his cars. I think they’re fantastic. But not everybody should have that, and not everybody wants that,” the president continued.
The four-figure rebates for electric vehicles (EVs) were first introduced in 2008 but received a significant boost when former President Joe Biden signed the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. “Biden, he’s so stupid. Everybody had to have an electric car by 2030, okay?” Trump explained. “And how do you do that when you don’t have enough electricity?”
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Pointing to California, Trump highlighted energy “brownouts” in blue states that have aggressively pushed electric vehicle adoption as part of their plans to transition to net-zero energy within the next decade.
Those efforts took a major blow earlier this month when Trump signed three resolutions overturning Governor Gavin Newsom’s regulations that would have required all vehicles sold by California auto dealers to be electric starting in 2035.
After taking office, Trump appointed Elon Musk to lead the newly created U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, where Musk made headlines by uncovering striking examples of waste and inefficiency within the federal government.