Musk returns to the White House, relationship warms up after falling out with Trump.

Elon Musk returned to the White House on Tuesday, a sign that tensions between the world's richest person and U.S. President Donald Trump have eased since earlier this year when their once close relationship was strained by disagreements over deficit spending issues. Musk was invited as a guest to attend a welcome dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Other guests included many business titans such as Tim Cook, David Ellison, Mark Benioff, Bill Ackman, and Ren Xun Huang. Also present were sports star Cristiano Ronaldo, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other Republican political leaders. Musk's political influence has waned since reaching its peak earlier this year through collaboration with Trump. At that time, his government efficiency agency played a role in cutting spending in the current administration. He was the biggest single donor in the 2024 election, with almost all of his spending going to support Trump. His months-long political involvement damaged Tesla's brand image consumers began to associate Tesla cars with Musk's right-wing political views, while investors worried that his affairs in Washington would distract him from continuing to innovate. Musk left the White House in May, shortly after publicly breaking ties with Trump over a proposed large tax-cut bill. Musk himself seems disappointed with his political experience. He later threatened to establish a third party, challenging the "duopoly" of the Democratic and Republican parties, and stated that his support for Republican candidates had been "enough." Since then, several Republicans, including Vance, have been trying to get Musk back into the Republican camp. Tesla board chairman Robyn Denholm stated that as long as Musk can meet the performance goals tied to his $100 billion compensation package, he will have a lot of autonomy in his future political involvement.