Musk blinks first in Trump feud

US Prez not interested in talking to Tesla chief, say White House officials

- AGENCIES

US President Donald Trump is not interested in talking with his former ally Elon Musk, amid a bitter feud over the president's sweeping tax-cut bill, a White House official said on Friday, adding that no phone call between the two men is planned for the day.

A separate White House official had said earlier that Trump and Musk were going to talk to each other on Friday.

"I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem, the poor guy's got a problem," Trump told CNN on Friday morning. The White House is signaling that Trump intends to move on from his acrimonious fallout with billionaire Elon Musk, focusing on securing passage of this signature tax and spending Bill and other economic policies.

After Thursday's blow-up, the Tesla Inc chief executive officer indicated a willingness to defuse tensions, suggesting an eagerness for an off-ramp for a clash that risks costing his companies deeply.

One day after Politico reported White House staff were working on arranging a call with Musk, a senior White House official said no call is in the works. Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump and Musk's relationship, which saw the tech entrepreneur help bankroll his 2024 presidential election win and assume a role heading a government cost-cutting initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency, imploded in public view on Thursday.