Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s highly publicized spat shook the world when Musk took to X to declare that Trump was mentioned in the Epstein files. However, it now appears the two may be on better terms after the billionaire was spotted attending the U.S. president’s Thanksgiving celebration at the White House just months ago.
Amid rumors of a possible reconciliation, Trump on Sunday broke the ice and discussed plans to speak with Musk. However, the impending discussion may be strictly professional, as the president wants the SpaceX owner to help restore internet services in Iran.
Iran’s internet services have been blacked out for days following the outbreak of anti-government protests. For that reason, Trump said Musk would be the appropriate person to consult, since his company, SpaceX, provides the satellite internet service Starlink. The 79-year-old said, “He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s got a very good company.”
Despite the statement, Musk has not publicly responded. This leaves room for speculation about whether the two former allies will come together again after their turbulent history of public fallouts.
Looking back, their relationship—often described online as a bromance—has been notably dynamic. Musk was once one of Trump’s biggest financial backers, helping fund his presidential campaign. Musk later played a role in facilitating major federal government cuts through his involvement.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 ALERTE INFO : Le président Donald Trump annonce qu’il prévoit de s’entretenir avec Elon Musk pour envisager l’utilisation du service Starlink de SpaceX afin de restaurer l’accès à Internet en Iran, où le régime a imposé une coupure totale du réseau durant les… pic.twitter.com/1WEx3BTzjG
— Trump Fact News 🇺🇸 (@Trump_Fact_News) January 12, 2026
The first signs of a crack appeared in their friendship when Musk openly opposed Trump’s signature tax bill. The billionaire criticized the president’s spending as the driving force behind the One Big Beautiful Bill. In a July 2022 post on X, Elon even wrote, “I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”
In response, Donald Trump issued an explosive and very public statement threatening to cut all of Musk’s federal contracts. By October 2025, however, Trump appeared to have a change of heart, with his views on the SpaceX owner shifting from bitter to sympathetic. Reflecting on their feud, Trump said, “He had a bad spell. He had a bad period. He had a bad moment. It was a stupid moment in his life. Very stupid. I’m sure he’d tell you that. But I like Elon, and I suspect I’ll always like him.”
Turning back to Iran, the government has imposed a nationwide internet blackout amid mass protests that have been ongoing since December 2025. The violence has been severe enough to raise alarms among several human rights groups. Musk’s Starlink satellites have reportedly bypassed the blackout, providing uncensored internet access.
Trump to Talk to Elon Musk About Restoring Internet in Iran 🌐🇮🇷
US President Donald Trump says he plans to coordinate with Elon Musk to restore internet access in Iran, where authorities have imposed a 4-day blackout amid ongoing anti-government protests. SpaceX Starlink could… pic.twitter.com/hOFEbpnZBK
— Daily Evening news (@d_evening_news) January 12, 2026
Now, Donald Trump plans to consult Musk based on his expertise with Starlink. The satellite service could help circumvent Iranian censorship and support dissidents. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are allegedly doing everything possible to jam Starlink signals and GPS, actions that have disrupted satellite internet services.
As such, amid increasingly complicated efforts to maintain connectivity, Amnesty International has highlighted how internet blackouts have been hiding grave human rights violations in Iran. Rebecca White, a Security Lab researcher at Amnesty International, commented, “This blanket internet shutdown not only hides human rights violations but amounts to a serious human rights violation in itself.”
