The spat ended with the world's richest man suggesting Trump should be impeached. A White House official said the two men would speak on Friday. 

The official did not give a time for the call, which could ease the feuding after an extraordinary day of hostilities largely conducted over social media that marked a stark end to a close alliance.

Musk had bankrolled a large part of Trump's presidential campaign and was then brought as one of the president's most visible advisers, heading up a sweeping and controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

The verbal punches erupted on Thursday after Trump criticised Musk in the Oval Office and the pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms, Trump's Truth Social and Musk's X.

The falling out had begun brewing days ago when Musk, who left his role as Head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's sweeping tax cut and spending bill.

Trump initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt.

Trump broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was "very disappointed" in Musk.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump said.

As Trump spoke, Musk responded on X.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," wrote Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing Trump and other Republicans in last year's election. 

In another post, Musk asserted that Trump's signature import tariffs would push the US into a recession in 2024. 

--Reuters--