Trump Calls Himself 'Big Fan' of Elon Musk, Internet Claps Back 'It's Not Mutual, Read His Biography'

Elon Musk has earned a fan in former president Donald Trump. The Republican front-runner gushed over the Tesla owner and his electric cars during his Arizona rally in a video from June 7, 2024. In a video post on X, formerly Twitter, an account @cb_doge shared the ex-commander-in-chief telling a crowd at an event that he's a "big fan of electric cars" and a "fan of Elon." 

The post caption mentioned the quote from Trump, "I am a big fan of electric cars. I'm a big fan of Elon Musk. I like Elon." The X post amassed over 80K views and comments with some appreciating the 78-year-old's remarks while others giving Trump a reality check that his admiration for Musk hasn't been reciprocated. 

Ironically, Elon Musk told his biographer that he is not a Trump fan and even called the former president, 'world's best bullshitters'. Pointing this out, one X user @AdmissionsTruth wrote, "It's not mutual, Don, read Elon's biography." @RogerDottin pointed out, "He has said even nicer things about Elon before." Meanwhile, this user, @BWay124, suggests it could be a political move, "Donnie knows the culture. Rallying Elon is prob 1m US votes by association. Biden continues to post about unions saving EVs when they are producing minimal numbers and no profitable ones I know of." 

However, @ReelJustinLewis, wrote that it's Trump's signature talking style, "That's just the way Trump talks lol." Also, a handful of X users praised Trump for acknowledging Musk's contribution as @Capt_America101 said, "When one legend applauds another legend. Legendary." @IretonLisa echoed, "We all are a fan of Elon. I'm glad he is too." 

ApTheideo post was originally shared by another entrepreneur named Sawyer Merritt, who, according to his X bio, is also a Tesla investor. His post garnered 1.4 million views and a slew of comments, where some agree with Trump while others seemed happy that at least, the 2024 presidential hopeful acknowledged the X owner. 

@BassonBrain commented, "Trump at least recognizes Tesla's and Elon's value ..." However, another X user, @bigbird3420, reminded  "He didn't say that at the last convention with a different crowd." Meanwhile, @Somethi41134031, added to the previous comment, "He barely said it ainthis speech, some people are sharing this tiny snippet and are omitting what came before and after it." 

During a recent Q and A segment of Tesla's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, June 13, 2024, Musk was asked about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, "Donald Trump has been a big critic of electric vehicles, but last week, he surprised us by saying he's a big fan of Tesla and a big fan of you. What did you tell him?" per Business Insider.

"I can be persuasive," responded Musk. "I have had some conversations with him, and he does call me out of the blue for no reason. I don't know why, but he does." The 52-year-old businessman added that whenever Trump called him, he has been "very nice" to him and he tried to sell the former real-estate mogul the environmental benefits of EVs, including patriotic perks. 

"America is the leader in electric cars," he noted. "I think a lot of his friends now have Teslas. They all love it. And he's a huge fan of the Cybertruck," which could possibly be the reason for Trump's sudden change of tone on electric vehicles.