APPLENEWS - STORY ADD
Trump admin live updates: Trump says Musk will 'pay the consequences' if he funds Democrats
The president added that he "doesn't have to" try to repair their relationship.
A bitter public feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk erupted on Thursday, with the Tesla billionaire agreeing to calls for Trump's impeachment while Trump suggested ending Musk's government contracts.
Musk showed some signs of softening his tone, but Trump on Friday told ABC News Musk was a "man who has lost his mind" and that he was "not particularly" interested in talking to him right now.
The spat began in part because of Musk's criticism of Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a sweeping immigration and tax bill that would fund much of the president's domestic agenda.
Latest headlines:
Trump considering selling or giving away Tesla he purchased to support Musk
The Tesla was parked on West Executive Avenue on Thursday.
--ABC News' Rachel Scott
Vance expresses support for Trump
Late Thursday evening, Vice President JD Vance expressed his support for the president amid the public dispute between Donald Trump and Musk.
"President Trump has done more than anyone in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I am proud to stand beside him," he wrote on social media.
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
Is Musk beginning to soften tone toward Trump?
Just hours after accusing President Donald Trump of appearing in the Epstein files, Elon Musk is showing signs of softening his tone, even appearing to agree with a post on X calling for the two to "make peace."
The first sign Musk may be starting to walk things back came thanks to an account with -- at the time -- about 140 followers on X who suggested to "cool off" and "take a step back." The post led Musk to reverse his threat to decommission the spacecraft used to transport astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station -- a threat Musk had made just hours earlier.
Musk then wrote that he agreed with a post by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman saying Trump and Musk should "should make peace for the benefit of our great country." Musk responded: "You're not wrong."
-ABC News' Will Steakin
Air Force secretary says converting Qatari 747 ‘probably’ less than $400M
The cost of retrofitting the Qatari 747 and converting into an Air Force One is “probably less than $400 million” the Air Force secretary told the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.
Troy Meink told the committee that “part of upgrading it is essentially doing a deep sweep to make sure that there's no counterintelligence threats on the platform.”
Meink also said that estimates that the retrofitting might cost $1 billion were too high and it “wouldn’t be anywhere near that.”
“I think there has been a number thrown around on the order of $1 billion, but a lot of those costs associated with that are costs that we'd have experienced anyway,” he explained.
He said the majority of that figure includes “buying additional platforms for training, for spares, things like that are actually the majority of that amount,” Meink told the committee.
A top Air Force official said last month the two replacement 747s being built by Boeing might be available as early as 2027 if certain security adjustments were made. Meink said Thursday he could not guarantee they could be ready by that date. “We're working with the contractor to pull it back. I think 27 is going to be really tough.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez