President Donald Trump said Starlink will remain at the White House and wished Elon Musk well despite their recent clash.

Tensions grew after public criticisms, with Trump suggesting Musk should call him to resolve the issue.

The dispute started over Musk’s criticism of Trump’s tax policies and was intensified by Musk deleting posts linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, which hurt Tesla’s stock.

Trump also denied claims about Musk’s alleged ketamine use and a physical altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Trump acknowledged their past friendly ties, while Musk and his companies have not responded publicly.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Government contracts create high-stakes relationships between CEOs and presidents

The Trump-Musk feud highlights the precarious position of CEOs whose businesses depend heavily on government funding.

Musk’s companies have received at least $38 billion in government support since 2003, including contracts and subsidies 1.

SpaceX alone relies on approximately $34 billion in NASA and military contracts for rocket projects, making it particularly vulnerable to political disruptions 1.

This interdependence creates significant business risk, as demonstrated by Tesla’s stock dropping 14% following Trump’s threats to terminate government contracts, wiping out about $150 billion in market value 2.

The situation highlights a broader challenge where business leaders must balance their personal political expressions against their fiduciary responsibilities, especially when companies are major government contractors.

2️⃣ Tesla stock demonstrates extreme vulnerability to “key person risk”

The market reaction to the Musk-Trump dispute provides a clear example of “key person risk,” where a company’s value becomes tightly linked to the actions of a single individual.

Following the public feud, analysts explicitly cited this risk when downgrading Tesla from “Buy” to “Neutral,” concerned about potential brand damage from Musk’s political activities 3.