Donald Trump and Elon Musk nonetheless should not talking, however the breakup doesn’t seem like it would carry an finish to the free promoting that Musk received for himself within the White Home. In a press convention on Monday, Trump told reporters that he’s going to maintain the Starlink web connection that was put in on the presidential residence earlier this yr, calling it “a superb service.”
Trump additionally threw some chilly water on the concept that he was going to sell his Tesla that he purchased earlier this yr as a favor to Musk whereas Tesla was the topic of protests and the corporate’s inventory was tanking. “I could transfer the Tesla round slightly bit,” he said, however he didn’t say he supposed to promote it. When requested what “transferring it round” means, Trump simply stated, “I’ve a number of areas.” Okay! The Tesla is at present on the White Home, the place it’s obtainable for staffers to make use of.
Whereas Trump intends to maintain Starlink related on the White Home, safety specialists positive want he wouldn’t. The service, which was reportedly put in by DOGE earlier this yr, per the Washington Post, went up with out the approval of the individuals who handle White Home communications techniques. They had been unable to observe exercise on the community, which was solely protected by a immediate asking customers to supply a password. By comparability, the White Home’s major WiFi community requires individuals to create a username and password in an effort to join, and people accounts expire after one week. So, that’s not ideally suited.
Trump may use the safety considerations as a technique to ditch Musk, however he’s actually doing his finest to stay cordial about the entire state of affairs—a shock for a man who will not be precisely recognized to be above petty potshots and insults. He went as far as to say on Monday, “I want him nicely. We had a superb relationship and I simply want him nicely, very nicely truly.” So whereas the 2 nonetheless aren’t speaking, Trump isn’t fanning the flames.
And whereas Trump might not be ditching his Musk-related tools, the remainder of the federal government might not be so loyal. The Washington Post reported this weekend that officers at each NASA and the Pentagon began pushing SpaceX opponents to step up and provide options to the providers offered by the Musk-backed enterprise. The explanation isn’t petty or vindictive, however fairly safety-related: Musk threatened to decommission its Dragon spacecraft, which is crucial for transporting astronauts to the Worldwide Area Station. The businesses merely can’t depend on a man who may simply at some point declare he’s not going to finish an important service they’re relying on and contracted out to him.
