US President Donald Trump is set to sell the red Tesla car he bought in March, local media reports.
Trump originally acquired the vehicle as a show of support for Elon Musk amid an increased barrage of criticism about Musk's position in the administration, Xinhua news agency reported, citing The New York Times.
The report added, "Administration officials said Mr Trump was not enthusiastic about talking to Mr Musk, even after the billionaire indicated he would be willing to dial back the battle" between them.
The tensions boiled over late Thursday when Musk dropped a threat to "immediately" retire SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is essential for hauling NASA astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.
Shortly afterward, hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman posted on social media urging the two men to “make peace for the benefit of our great country.” Musk responded with a brief but telling, “You’re not wrong.”
The New York Times observed that a prolonged feud could be costly for Musk. His companies, including SpaceX, rely heavily on lucrative government contracts and stand to gain billions more in the future.
As a retaliatory move, Trump vowed to cancel those contracts, worsening the conflict.
Trump also risks in this conflict. Musk, the world's richest person right now, spent an estimated $275 million backing Trump's 2024 run and had committed to giving a further $100 million to groups that were cooperating with the president's agenda before the 2026 midterm elections. But those funds haven't been delivered yet and are now in doubt.
The controversy developed in parallel with Musk's theatrical, if brief, threat to deny NASA access to SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft—an action that would have had a profound impact on the space agency. According to The Washington Post, Dragon is NASA's only American spacecraft that can carry astronauts to the International Space Station, and losing it would radically change how NASA gets to the $100 billion orbital outpost.
The threat, made on X, came as tensions rose after Trump threatened to cancel all federal contracts for Musk's companies.
"Considering the value of SpaceX to several federal initiatives, cutting those ties would leave NASA as well as the Pentagon and intel communities in the lurch," the report said.
Hours later, after making the threat, Musk seemed to change his mind and replied on X: "Ok, we won't decommission Dragon."
