Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and founder of ventures such as Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, attended a dinner with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at the White House on Tuesday. It was their second public meeting since a bitter feud with Trump earlier this year.
According to Reuters, Elon Musk’s presence at the White House could signal a relative reconciliation in the bitter relationship between the Tesla CEO and the US president.
Musk supported and financed Trump in last year’s election and began working as an adviser to his administration earlier this year. He ran the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and oversaw federal funding and job cuts.
But the two quickly fell out. Musk took to social media to attack Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill as economically unsound and announced plans to form a new political party. Trump has threatened to cut off billions of dollars in federal subsidies to Musk’s companies.
Analysts say the dispute and Musk’s far-right political rhetoric have hurt Tesla’s brand image, sales and share price. Musk and Trump have rarely been seen together in public since. Musk was last seen shaking hands with Trump in September at a memorial service for far-right Republican leader Charlie Kirk, a close Trump ally.
Meanwhile, Trump has invited Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the White House. Bin Salman is seeking to improve his global image and deepen ties with Washington. Other guests at the dinner included Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Meanwhile, Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a series of agreements on Tuesday local time. The deals cover a wide range of bilateral cooperation, from defense to civil nuclear technology. Trump also announced the sale of “state-of-the-art” F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. The White House did not say how many jets would be sold or which variant would be given to Saudi Arabia. It did acknowledge, however, that they were part of a “larger defense sales package.”
The White House said the defense deal would “strengthen the U.S. defense industry and ensure that Saudi Arabia continues to buy American products.” Saudi Arabia was reportedly seeking two dozen F-35s. The total value of the deal was not disclosed, and other defense items included were not listed.
Trump and bin Salman also finalized a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that laid the foundation for a long-term nuclear energy partnership and “confirmed the United States and American companies as the preferred partners in Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear cooperation.” The agreement added that “all cooperation will be guided by strong principles of resilience.”
