The father of Elon Musk, Errol Musk, has attributed the recent clash between his son and U.S. President Donald Trump to stress on both sides, describing Elon’s decision to publicly challenge the president as a mistake.
Speaking to Russian media outlet Izvestia during his visit to Moscow, Errol downplayed the feud, calling it a minor issue.
The disagreement began last week when Elon Musk criticized Trump’s tax and spending bill on social media, labeling it a “disgusting abomination.” This sparked a heated exchange of insults between the two.
“They have been under a lot of stress for five months — give them a break,” Errol Musk said. “They are very tired and stressed, so you can expect something like this.”
Errol expressed confidence in Trump’s position, stating, “He’s the president, he was elected as the president. Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed.” He dismissed the fallout as “just a small thing” that would “be over tomorrow.”
Neither Elon Musk nor the White House provided comments outside normal U.S. business hours.
The situation escalated on Saturday when Trump declared their relationship “over” and warned of “serious consequences” if Musk funded Democrats running against Republican lawmakers who supported the tax and spending bill.
Despite the fallout, Musk had previously been a major financial backer of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and was appointed by Trump to lead an initiative aimed at reducing the federal workforce and cutting government spending.