Musk's father says Trump dispute triggered by intense stress, has to end
MOSCOW - The dispute between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the U.S. president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Musk's father told Reuters on Monday.
Trump and Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla TSLA.O and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination.'
Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public clash with the president, Errol Musk said people were sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should 'in the heat of the moment.'
'They've had five months of intense stress,' Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organized by conservative Russian tycoons.
'With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop.'
Asked how it would end, he said: 'Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon.'
Neither the White House nor Musk could be reached for comment outside normal U.S. business hours.
Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over and that there would be 'serious consequences' if the world's richest man decided to fund U.S. Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill.
Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son.
'Elon is sticking to his principles but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world,' Musk's father said. 'Sometimes you have to give and take.'
Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, Musk's father praised President Vladimir Putin as a 'very stable and pleasant man.' He accused 'fake media' in the West of projecting 'complete nonsense' about Russia and for casting it as an enemy.
By Guy Faulconbridge
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Timothy Heritage
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
7 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Asian markets are mixed after Wall St tumbles following poor US jobs report
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Asia are mixed after Wall Street had its worst day since May following the release of weak U.S. jobs data. Markets in Asia had already reacted on Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on imports from many U.S. trading partners, posting moderate losses. The new import duties are set to take effect on Thursday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.6%, bouncing back from bigger losses, to 40,134.97. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.2% higher, to 24,589.21, while the Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,562.18. In South Korea, the Kospi surged 0.7% to 3,140.92. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 8,643.00. Investors' worries about a weakening U.S. economy deepened after the latest report on job growth in the U.S. showed employers added just 73,000 jobs in July. That is sharply lower than economists expected. The Labor Department also reported that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. 'The labor market, once a pillar of resilience, is now looking more like a late-cycle casualty, as soft data begin to replace soft landings in market discourse,' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. U.S. futures edged 0.3% higher, however, early Monday. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its biggest decline since May 21 and its fourth straight loss. It closed at 6,238.01, posting a 2.4% loss for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2% to 43,588.58, while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.2% to finish at 20,650.13. Internet retail giant Amazon fell 8.3%, despite reporting encouraging profit and sales for its most recent quarter. Technology behemoth Apple fell 2.5% after also beating Wall Street's profit and revenue forecasts. Both companies face tougher operating conditions because of tariffs, with Apple forecasting a $1.1 billion hit from the fees in the current quarter. Trump's decision to order the immediate firing of the head of the government agency that produces the monthly jobs figures raised concern over whether there might be interference in future data. The surprisingly weak hiring numbers led investors to step up their expectations the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in September. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.21% from 4.39% just before the hiring report was released. That's a big move for the bond market. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed actions, plunged to 3.68% from 3.94% just prior to the report's release. The Fed has held rates steady since December. A cut in rates would give the job market and overall economy a boost, but it could also risk fueling inflation, which is hovering stubbornly above the central bank's 2% target. An update on Thursday for the Fed's preferred measure of inflation showed that prices ticked higher in June, rising to 2.6% from 2.4% in May. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The Fed held rates steady again at its most recent meeting this week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been pressured by Trump to cut the benchmark rate, though that decision isn't his to make alone, but belongs to the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee. Businesses, investors and the Fed have been operating under a cloud of uncertainty from Trump's tariff policy. Companies have been warning investors that unpredictable policies, with some tariffs already in effect while others change or get extended, make it difficult to plan ahead. Walmart, Procter & Gamble and many others also have warned about import taxes raising costs, eating into profits and raising prices for consumers. In other dealings early Monday, U.S, benchmark crude oil lost 18 cents to $67.15 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 23 cents to $69.44 per barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 147.80 Japanese yen from 147.26 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1577 from $1.1598.
Toronto Star
36 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Texas Democrats arrive in Illinois to block vote back home on redrawn House maps sought by Trump
Democrats in the Texas House left the state Sunday in a last-resort bid to block new congressional maps sought by President Donald Trump that would give Republicans a better chance of preserving their narrow U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. The dramatic revolt came before the GOP-controlled state House was set to vote Monday afternoon on the proposed maps, which would give Republicans five more winnable congressional seats. Texas' Republican governor subsequently threatened to remove the lawmakers from office if they don't return by the time the House meets.
Globe and Mail
37 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
First Pacific Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in META
Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. First Pacific Advisors LLC, managed by Richard Atwood, recently executed a significant transaction involving Meta Platforms, Inc. ((META)). The hedge fund reduced its position by 5,474 shares. Spark's Take on META Stock According to Spark, TipRanks' AI Analyst, META is a Outperform. Meta Platforms excels in financial performance with strong growth and profitability metrics, which is the most significant factor driving the stock score. The positive momentum in technical analysis and favorable earnings call sentiment further bolster the score. However, valuation concerns and regulatory challenges pose moderate risks. To see Spark's full report on META stock, click here. More about Meta Platforms, Inc. YTD Price Performance: 28.31% Average Trading Volume: 12,634,116 Current Market Cap: $1885.6B Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
