How Elon Musk got back in Trump's orbit after nuclear fallout, insiders reveal: 'Water under the bridge'

EXCLUSIVE: As Elon Musk prepares to receive a prestigious honor from President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon, several sources familiar with the pair's relationship say the trillionaire is back in the administration's fold after last year's nasty blowup between the pair.

"Water under the bridge," one former administration official told Fox News Digital when about to classify the falling out and subsequent rekindling of the pair's relationship.

Musk had a meteoric rise within the MAGA movement during the 2024 presidential election and, after Trump was re-elected, joined the administration to lead massive federal government cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

During that time, he had a chummy relationship with Trump, who presented him with a ceremonial golden key to the White House during an Oval Office celebration.

In May 2025, Musk left the government after leading DOGE for four months.

The CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) was reportedly at odds with Trump over the amount of government spending tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he viewed as antithetical to DOGE's effort to reduce wasteful spending in a bloated federal government.

NEW BOOK ON ELON MUSK EXAMINES THE BILLIONAIRE’S MIND, MOTIVATION AND MAKING LIFE MULTI-PLANETARY On June 3, 2025, Musk took to the social media platform he owns to rail against the bill, describing it as a "disgusting abomination." "KILL THE BILL," Musk wrote on X the following day.

Trump fired back in a social media post of his own, saying Musk had been "wearing thin" on him, and that Musk went "CRAZY" after Trump rolled back what the administration described as a Biden-era "backdoor electric vehicle mandate." Musk then claimed that Trump would not have won the 2024 election without his financial support and accused him of "ingratitude." Through his America PAC , Musk helped fund the campaigns of Trump and other Republicans to the tune of nearly $300 million.

Musk later accused Trump of being in the infamous Epstein files, though he never provided proof for the claim.

TRUMP SAYS MICHAEL COHEN WAS 'WEAPONIZED' BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA IN SURPRISE RADIO REUNION At that point, a former White House official told Fox News Digital that Musk was completely removed from the White House fold.

"He wasn’t in the office at all," the source said.

Musk had previously occupied a space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Space, alongside other White House staff.

But, the former official said it's in Trump's nature to rekindle old relationships, regardless of how nasty the dustup.