(Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not destroy Elon Musk’s companies by taking away federal subsidies and said he wants the billionaire tech-entrepreneur’s businesses to thrive.
“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!,” Trump said in a social media post. “I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE.”
The statement follows Musk’s warning to Tesla investors on Wednesday that U.S. government cuts in support for electric vehicle makers could lead to a “few rough quarters” for the company.
Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November’s presidential election and led the Department of Government Efficiency’s chaotic effort to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce.
The Tesla CEO left the administration in late May to refocus on his tech empire.
Trump and Musk fell out shortly afterward when Musk openly denounced the Republican president’s tax-cut and spending bill, leading to threats by Trump to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal government contracts with Musk’s companies.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
