Billionaire Elon Musk has said he regrets some of the posts he made about US President Donald Trump during their war of words on social media.
“I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far,” he said on his platform X.
The two were embroiled in a public fallout, after the Tesla owner called Trump’s tax bill a “disgusting abomination”.
His post comes after Trump declared that their relationship was over, and that he had no interest in mending ties with Musk.
The budget, which includes huge tax breaks and more defence spending, was passed by the House of Representatives last month and is now being considered by senators.
Musk urged Americans to call their representatives in Washington to “kill the bill” as he believed it would “cause a recession in the second half of the year”.
The tech billionaire claimed, without evidence, that Trump appears in unreleased government files linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The White House rubbished those claims.
In response Trump said Musk had “lost his mind” and threatened to cancel his government contracts which have an estimated value of $38bn (£28bn).
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the president,” Trump said in an interview with NBC on Sunday.
Musk deleted most of his posts over the weekend, including one that called for Trump’s impeachment and another claiming he won the election for him.
Musk was the largest donor for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and had been considered the president’s right-hand man.
Their blowout came shortly after Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), after just 129 days in the job.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
The billionaire entrepreneur posted Wednesday about his decision on X, his social media website.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
A White House official, who requested anonymity to talk about the change, confirmed that Musk was leaving.
Musk’s departure comes one day after he criticized the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, saying he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “big beautiful bill.”
The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. While speaking to CBS, Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speak to reporters after departing a House Republican conference meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
His CBS interview came out Tuesday night. Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation.
“I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said.
Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he said. “It’s got a way to go.”
Republicans recently pushed the measure through the House and are debating it in the Senate.
Musk’s concerns are shared by some Republican lawmakers. “I sympathize with Elon being discouraged,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.
Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, Johnson added that he was “pretty confident” there was enough opposition “to slow this process down until the president, our leadership, gets serious” about reducing spending. He said there was no amount of pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson has asked senators to make as few changes to the legislation as possible, saying that House Republicans reached a “very delicate balance” that could be upended with major changes. The narrowly divided House will have to vote again on final passage once the Senate alters the bill.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, saying “the House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings.”
The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorized spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE’s cuts. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the package will include $1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and $8.3 billion in foreign assistance.
Musk’s criticism come as he steps back from his government work, rededicating himself to companies like the electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. He’s also said he’ll reduce his political spending, because “I think I’ve done enough.”
At times, he’s seemed chastened by his experience working in government. Although he hoped that DOGE would generate $1 trillion in spending cuts, he’s fallen far short of that target.
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,” he told The Washington Post. “I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”
Musk had previously been energized by the opportunity to reshape Washington. He wore campaign hats in the White House, held his own campaign rallies, and talked about excessive spending as an existential crisis. He often tended to be effusive in his praise of Trump.
“The more I’ve gotten to know President Trump, the more I like the guy,” Musk said in February. “Frankly, I love him.”
Trump repaid the favor, describing Musk as “a truly great American.” When Tesla faced declining sales, he turned the White House driveway into a makeshift showroom to illustrate his support.
It’s unclear what, if any, impact that Musk’s comments about the bill would have on the legislative debate. During the transition period, he helped whip up opposition to a spending measure as the country stood on the brink of a federal government shutdown.
His latest criticism could embolden Republicans who want bigger spending cuts. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted a Fox News story about Musk’s interview while also adding his own take on the measure, saying there was “still time to fix it.”
“The Senate version will be more aggressive,” Lee said. “It can, it must, and it will be. Or it won’t pass.”
Only two Republicans — Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted against the bill when the House took up the measure last week.
Davidson took note of Musk’s comments on social media.
“Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the Big Beautiful Bill where the House missed the moment,” he wrote. “Don’t hope someone else will cut deficits someday, know it has been done this Congress.”
The Congressional Budget Office, in a preliminary estimate, said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would reduce spending by slightly more than $1 trillion over the same period.
House Republican leaders say increased economic growth would allow the bill to be deficit-neutral or deficit-reducing, but outside watchdogs are skeptical. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the bill would add $3 trillion to the debt, including interest, over the next decade.
Tesla boss Elon Musk says he will cut back his role in Donald Trump’s administration after the company’s profits and revenues plunged during the first three months of the year.
Sales slumped and the electric carmaker faced a backlash as Musk became a political fixture in the White House.
On Tuesday, the firm reported a 20% drop in automotive revenue in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period last year, while profits fell more than 70%.
The company warned investors that the pain could continue, declining to offer a growth forecast while saying “changing political sentiment” could meaningfully hurt demand.
The recent dip in the company’s fortunes came amid an outcry over Musk’s role in Trump’s new administration, which he acknowledged had taken his focus off the company.
The tech boss contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump’s re-election. He also leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) initiative to cut federal spending and slash the government workforce.
Musk said his “time allocation to Doge” would “drop significantly” starting next month. He would, he said, spend only one to two days per week on government matters “as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it’s useful”.
Tesla brought in $19.3bn (£14.5bn) in total revenue in the quarter, down 9% year on year, according to the new numbers. That was less than the $21.1bn expected by analysts, and came as the company cut prices in a bid to woo buyers.
Trump’s tariffs on China also weighed heavily on Tesla, the company indicated. Although the vehicles Tesla sells in its home market are assembled in the US, it depends on many parts made in China. “Rapidly evolving trade policy” could hurt its supply chain and raise costs, according to the company.
“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term,” Tesla’s quarterly update said.
A fresh trade hurdle looms for Kenya as U.S. President Donald Trump slaps a 10% tariff on Kenyan exports, triggering alarm bells across the country’s manufacturing sector.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is urging Trump to rethink what it’s calling a risky economic move. For years, Kenya enjoyed duty-free access to the U.S. through AGOA, boosting exports and job creation.
With the Trump Tariff in play and AGOA nearing its expiry, manufacturers fear massive disruptions, job losses, and a backslide in Kenya’s hard-earned economic gains.
Trump Tariff Shakes Kenya’s Export Market
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has formally requested U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider the 10% tariff recently imposed on Kenyan goods.
Trump signed a new executive order activating reciprocal tariffs on trade with Kenya. This move, KAM warns, threatens the country’s competitive edge in the American market.
KAM’s Chief Executive, Tobias Alando, explained that Kenyan exports—previously protected by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)—will now face higher costs.
AGOA, which ends in September 2025, gave Kenya a zero-tariff advantage, allowing duty-free access to U.S. markets. Without AGOA’s cushion, Kenyan goods now risk losing price competitiveness.
This is especially concerning given the $737.3 million (Ksh95.11 billion) in exports that Kenya sent to the U.S. in 2024. These gains, KAM says, could be eroded by the Trump Tariff.
Kenyan Jobs and Industries Under Threat
KAM highlighted AGOA’s massive contribution to job creation in Kenya. The trade deal has directly created over 58,000 jobs and supported more than 100,000 others indirectly.
Industries such as textiles, tea, and coffee thrived under this tariff-free arrangement. Pharmaceutical products—like vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins, and cultures—also found their way to the U.S. under favorable terms.
With the Trump Tariff now in force, manufacturers say the cost of exporting will rise sharply. Contracts based on AGOA’s duty-free conditions may become financially unviable.
As a result, Kenyan producers may be forced to absorb extra costs or lose U.S. buyers altogether. KAM also warns that the trade imbalance between Kenya and the U.S. could worsen.
A likely decline in Kenyan exports could widen the existing trade deficit and shrink the country’s share in the U.S. market.
KAM Calls for Swift Intervention and AGOA Extension
In response, KAM is asking the U.S. to consider a transitional clause. They want all goods currently en route to the U.S.—shipped under AGOA’s 0% tariff policy—to be exempt from the Trump Tariff.
Moreover, KAM is urging both governments to push for AGOA’s renewal beyond 2025. They argue that the act has been essential for Kenya’s social and economic growth. Without it, thousands of jobs are at stake and entire industries may face decline.
Despite the tough situation, KAM remains proactive. The organization says it has already engaged with the Kenyan government and key stakeholders.
Its goal is to protect Kenya’s trade interests and keep the country competitive in the U.S. market. The Trump Tariff has shaken Kenya’s export landscape.
As the countdown to AGOA’s expiration continues, manufacturers are racing to secure better trade terms.
Whether Trump will soften his stance remains uncertain—but the call from Kenya’s business leaders is loud and clear: protect the progress, preserve the partnership, and keep Kenya trading.
