US-based tech billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have rekindled their friendship after falling out last year, with Musk preparing a major donation to Republicans for the midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people who accompanied the two to China.
Relations between the two men soured in mid-2025 when Musk attacked Trump’s signature tax-and-spending package, calling the draft “utterly insane and destructive.” The rift came despite Musk’s outsized role in the 2024 election cycle. After Trump’s victory, the billionaire was appointed to head the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk’s return to Trump’s inner circle became apparent during their flight to Beijing in May, when he joined the president, Cabinet officials, business executives and family members aboard Air Force One. The two appeared friendly, with Musk discussing plans for new US factories, while Trump talked about a space-launch video and asked about one of Musk’s sons, people aboard the plane told the WSJ.
During the flight, Musk also told Trump he planned to spend at least $100 million on a voter-turnout operation to support Republicans in the November midterm elections and help them retain control of Congress, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the strategy.
The rapprochement reportedly followed nearly a year of behind-the-scenes efforts, including private calls, pressure from mutual friends, invitations to Mar-a-Lago and a White House dinner. Trump and Musk briefly spoke at the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had reportedly sought to reconcile the two.
The WSJ noted that Vice President J.D. Vance, along with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, reached out to Musk after the public rupture with Trump to ease tensions and later maintained contact with him and his allies. Vance reportedly viewed Musk as too important to ignore, given SpaceX’s extensive defense and NASA contracts. Musk, meanwhile, reportedly dropped plans for a new political party partly to preserve ties with Vance, seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
The two men are unlikely to return to the close relationship they once had, according to Trump’s aides. Still, they have resumed speaking roughly once a month, discussing artificial intelligence, China, and world events, people familiar with the conversations said.
Musk played a major role in Trump’s 2024 election victory, publicly backing the president and reportedly spending at least $288 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates.
The renewed alliance comes as Democrats hold an edge over Republicans in the latest national polls ahead of the November midterms, while Trump’s net approval rating has fallen close to a record low amid growing public dissatisfaction with his presidency, including over his handling of the Iran conflict.