What you need to know
Elon Musk attended a White House dinner with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, November 18th.
The tech giant was one of the guests at President Donald Trump’s black-tie event after the president’s meeting with Middle East leaders in Washington, D.C.
Musk, 54, was joined by Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Cristiano Ronaldo, and other Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, First Lady Melania Trump, and First Lady Usha Vance.
“This room is full of the greatest leaders in the world,” Trump, 79, told dinner attendees, according to The Hill.
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Musk’s appearance comes months after he ended his term as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He held the position from January until May 30, after which President Trump announced that Musk would leave the job once his special public service contract ended.
Days after leaving office, Musk opened up about his presidential agenda and budget plans for the Big Beautiful Bill, a massive government spending plan.
“I’m sorry but I can’t take it anymore,” Musk wrote in an X post at the time. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is an abomination, an abomination. Shame on the people who voted for it. They know they were wrong. You know it.”
Musk later retracted some of his posts. But sources told PEOPLE in June that the relationship between Musk and President Trump was forever damaged.
“Mr. Trump hasn’t forgotten,” the source said. “He may say things that are acceptable to the public, but after what Elon wrote on social media, and despite his apology, the relationship between Trump and Musk will never be the same again.”
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The following month, Musk announced he was forming a new political party, America Party, after Congress passed Trump’s domestic policy bill. In response to Musk, Trump called the Tesla CEO a “train wreck” and accused him of being “insane.”
Despite their rift, Trump and Musk attended a memorial service for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on September 21.
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, and the president paid tribute to him during a 40-minute memorial at the event. There, Musk and Trump spoke briefly.
Shortly afterward, Trump recounted the conversation to reporters, saying Musk approached him to say hello. “We had a little conversation. We had a really good relationship, and I was glad he came.”
