05 Jan 2026, 07:48 AM IST i — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 4, 2026 The Jan. 5, 2026, announcement amassed 21 million views and polarised replies, with supporters hailing potential US innovation boosts while critics highlighted Musk's prior Epstein file mentions about Trump. The renewed "bromance" comes after a dramatic fallout last summer. Tensions boiled over in June 2025 when Musk abruptly departed his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk publicly slammed a Trump-backed spending package as a "disgusting abomination" and a "mountain of pork," specifically criticising the removal of electric vehicle tax credits. President Trump fired back during an Oval Office press conference, telling reporters that Musk was "wearing thin" and suggesting the billionaire had "Trump Derangement Syndrome" after leaving the administration. Trump even threatened to review federal contracts for SpaceX, leading Musk to briefly threaten the decommissioning of the Dragon spacecraft fleet. Trump, spoke highly about Elon Musk. "Elon's great. He is 80% super genius & 20% he makes mistakes," Trump was heard on the Press on Air Force One on Sunday. This recent cycle of embrace-and-attack mirrors their 2022 dynamic. Before becoming a key ally during the 2024 campaign, Musk had tweeted that it was time for Trump to "hang up his hat and ail into the sunset," prompting Trump to label Musk a "bullshit artist" who would have "dropped to his knees and begged" for subsidies. With this weekend's dinner, however, the two most powerful men in the President's orbit seem to have hit the reset button once again. ALSO READ