President Trump explained how Tesla CEO Elon Musk was on the loop with plans to abolish EV mandates.
President Donald Trump claimed that his relationship with Elon Musk has changed.
While signing a law to overturn California’s electric vehicle mandate on Thursday, Trump explained to media members that he surprised Musk, whom he called “friend,” but he didn’t bring any concerns about Trump’s plan to abolish the mandate.
Trump said he was surprised he supported him by giving his efforts to block the nation from abolishing gas-powered vehicles. The trio of congressional resolutions thwarted California’s plans to end sales of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035.
Trump has ended the exemption issued by the Biden-era EPA, which mandated it to be a California electric vehicle by 2035.
Mask is faced in the battle of Trump
Musk, who resigned from the role of the Government Efficiency Bureau (DOGE) last month, was relieved to Trump, saying, “As long as I’m on the same plane as everyone else, we’ll do good things. We’ll make better products.”
“I said, ‘It’s so cool. It’s so good.’ That was my answer.
President Donald Trump asks questions after signing a series of bills related to California’s vehicle emission standards at an event in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump and Musk’s good relationship has begun to unravel over the past few weeks as they cast personal insults at each other. The war of words began after Musk left Doj and condemned one big beautiful act of bill by Trump, calling it “nasty hatred.”
It was the face of the campaign trail and Trump from the early days of Trump’s second term when Tesla CEO and Trump became close confidants and Musk was tapped to lead massive cost-cutting efforts at many government agencies.
Elon Musk at an unpicked press conference with President Donald Trump in the oval office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 30, 2025. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mask was hired as a “special government employee” and according to data from the Government Ethics Office, “we were allowed to work for the federal government within 130 days in 365 days. The 130-day window on the mask ended on May 30.
Elon Musk, Trump and Maga’s friendships that went south
Elon Musk in Trump’s speech to Congress (Getty Images/Getty Images)
During the Musk era in government, Trump defended business tycoons as people targeted Tesla owners in protest against the cuts. He praised Musk for making the SpaceX successful launch, and the duo sat ringside in a UFC fight alongside CEO Dana White.
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Last week, Trump alleged that Mask was upset by his refusal to hire EV tax waste and mask NASA picks. Musk attempted to link Trump with disgraced pedophile investor Jeffrey Epstein, saying Trump’s tariffs would cause a recession.
Emma Colton from Fox News contributed to this report.
