President Donald Trump says he now understands why Elon Musk doesn’t like him although he still believes “he really does.”
According to him, Musk’s hate for him stems from the abolishing of California’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate, a policy which he knew from the beginning.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump remarked, “Now I know why Elon doesn’t like me so much,” before clarifying that Musk’s reaction to his EV policy was “honest.”
Trump emphasized that his intention to abolish the EV mandate was not a new development. According to him, Elon knew of it and yet still he endorsed him.
“This is not something new, this has been there from day one. We were going to abolish the EV mandate. Elon still endorsed me. Honestly, he never spoke to me about that. He never talked to me about it,” Trump said.
He recounted a conversation with Musk where he asked him about the mandate, “I once asked him about it – he said “Well as long as it’s happening to everybody, I will be able to compete.””