Donald Trump has said his relationship with Elon Musk has ended amid their shocking feud, but that hasn't kept the world's richest man from firing off posts that just might claw him closer to the president's good graces.
The chaos in Los Angeles provided one opportunity for the former first buddy to align himself with the president who made him a fixture at Mar-a-Lago before the eruption of their extraordinary public feud.
And amid online feuding with key Trump figure Stephen Miller, Musk on Sunday re-followed the president's deputy chief of staff on X, four days after unfollowing him.
Trump on Saturday told NBC his relationship with Musk was over. 'I would assume so, yeah,' said Trump, who also warned of 'consequences' for Musk if he donated to Democrats amid their clashes over debt and trade.
Vice President JD Vance, who has known Musk for years and could serve as a potential bridge between the two men, urged Musk to settle down.
'But I think it's been very restrained because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine,' Vance told comedian Theo Von on his podcast.
Vance also ripped the idea, reposted by Musk amid the fury, that Trump should be impeached.
'I just think the idea that the president should be impeached, I'm sorry, it's insane. It's totally insane,' Vance said, calling Musk's media meltdown 'not helpful.'
Elon Musk has been using his X account to post images in support of Trump in his standoff with California officials. He also refollowed the X account of a top Trump aide.
Musk appeared to take down one incendiary post linking Trump to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,' Musk wrote in the original post.
He also went online to debunk a viral screenshot that he 'took' Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, who is working for Musk following the end of her status as a Special Government Employee assisting Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
The screen shot was of a Mille post saying 'We will take back America,' with a purported response by Musk saying 'Just like I took your wife.'
The problem is that when online users took to Musk's own AI tool Grok inquiring whether the screenshot was real, it answered that it 'likely existed and was deleted.'
Musk responded to Grok Sunday night: 'No, it's fake ffs,' adding a face palm emoji. 'I never posted this.'
Musk also weighed in on the mayhem.
Musk reposted a sarcastic post calling to 'Make California Great Again'.
Musk wasn't only tamping down feuds. He was also applauding Trump's own efforts to flex his strength amid escalating protests in Los Angeles that began over ICE raids and led to weekend clashes between police and protesters.
Trump deployed at least 300 California National Guard troops despite the opposition of Gov. Gavin Newsom, the first time a president had undertaken such a move in decades. The president kept up the call Sunday to 'bring in the troops,' even as Newsom said the deployment would further inflame the situation.
Musk posted images of Newsom superimposed over burning vehicles, and reposted comments by Trump trashing Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
He also posted an image of a masked man waving a Mexican flag over a burning Waymo vehicle. 'This is not ok,' he wrote.
He also reposted JD Vance applauding Trump's actions, adding two American flags in his own posting.
Musk has also flooded his account with postings about SpaceX and his other corporate ventures, days after launching an online storm against Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' with warnings about exploding the nation's accumulated debt and deficits.