Donald Trump has surprising response to Elon Musk's 'regretful' apology following explosive row

Donald Trump has responded after Elon Musk said some of his recent social media posts about the US President 'went too far.'

The dramatic fallout between the President and the world's richest man has taken an unexpected turn, with Musk doing something he rarely does - admitting he was wrong.

The conflict erupted last week when Musk took to X to post a series of sharp criticisms aimed at Trump's legislative plans.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss shared a series of posts describing Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' as a 'disgusting abomination' that undermines the work of DOGE.

He launched into Trump's economic policies, attacking the President's tariff strategy and predicting it 'will cause a recession in the second half of this year.' Perhaps most provocatively, he threatened political consequences, saying he would work to 'fire' anyone who voted for the bill come November.

Surprisingly, the social media warfare represented a complete 180-degree turn from Musk's previous position as one of Trump's most prominent supporters and advisors.

In response, Trump said that Musk had 'lost his mind' and threatened to cancel government contracts with the businessman's companies - which could lead to the success of competitors like Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

The post got personal when, in a post that he later deleted, the tech mogul claimed that Trump appeared in files related to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein due to their past association.

The White House immediately pushed back against Musk's Epstein claims, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissing them as coming from someone 'who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill [a Republican tax and spending bill] because it does not include the policies he wanted.'

But the SpaceX founder announced that he 'regretted' some of his previous posts last week.

"I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on X.

Trump exclusively told the New York Post his response to the public apology.

"I thought it was very nice that he did that," the President told the publication, though stopped short of saying whether he was ready to fully reconcile with his former advisor.

Trump noted that 'nothing surprises him' - not even having a close ally turn against him so dramatically.

Then, in a more detailed conversation with a New York Post columnist, Trump revealed more about his feelings regarding the whole episode.

While he said he doesn't 'blame' Musk for the conflict that started with criticism of his legislative agenda, he admitted to being 'a little disappointed.'

“Look, I have no hard feelings,” Trump said. “I was really surprised that that happened. He went after a bill that’s phenomenal. [...] I think he feels very badly that he said that, actually.”

Trump's relatively measured response to Musk's apology suggests that the door might still be open for some kind of reconciliation. However, it's unclear whether their relationship could ever return to its previous closeness.

Supporters of the 'Dark MAGA' theory may view the entire drama as part of a bigger plan, where wealthy tech giants are gradually nudging Trump out of the picture to overthrow the US government.