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Elon Musk attended the White House dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The tech titan was among the guests at President Donald Trump’s black-tie event following the Middle Eastern leader’s meeting with the president in Washington, D.C.
Musk, 54, was joined by Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Cristiano Ronaldo and several Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance.
Trump, 79, told the dinner guests, “This room is loaded up with the biggest leaders in the world,” according to The Hill.
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Musk’s appearance comes months after his stint as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He held the post from January until May 30, when Trump announced Musk would be leaving his post once his special government employee contract ended.
Days after his exit, Musk unleashed his true feelings about the president’s agenda and budget plans with the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a behemoth government spending plan.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote in an X post at the time. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Musk later walked back some of his posts; however, a source told PEOPLE in June that Musk’s relationship with the Trump White House was forever damaged.
“Trump doesn’t forget,” the source said. “He may say something acceptable for public consumption, but after what Elon wrote on social media, and despite his apology, Trump’s relationship with Musk will never again be the same.”
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The following month, Musk announced he was making a new political party, the American Party, in response to Congress passing Trump’s domestic policy bill. In response to Musk, Trump called the Tesla CEO a “train wreck” and accused him of going “off the rails.”
Despite their fallout, Trump and Musk were seen at right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sept. 21.
Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, and the president paid tribute to Kirk with a 40-minute eulogy at the event. There, Musk and Trump briefly spoke.
Shortly after, Trump addressed their conversation to the press, and said that Musk approached him to say hello. “We had a little conversation. We had a very good relationship, but it was nice that he came over.”
