By Kimberly Hayek
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attended a black-tie dinner with President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday—only their second public appearance together since a dispute earlier this year.
Trump greeted Bin Salman at the White House with a full ceremonial welcome, featuring a military band, horseback procession, and fighter jets overhead before the dinner.
Musk attended the dinner held in the East Room, which featured candlelit tables, piano music, and other guests, including top business executives, administration officials, and celebrities, such as soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo and tech leaders Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Musk, who was one of the major supporters of Trump’s election and spearheaded efforts to reduce federal spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was at the center of a bitter feud with the president in June over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Musk stepped down from DOGE on May 30 as his 130-day mandate as a special government employee expired.
Musk and Trump have had limited public interactions since their dispute. Their last appearance together was a handshake at the September memorial for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
US–Saudi Partnership
Trump announced at the dinner that Saudi Arabia would be designated as a major non-NATO ally and highlighted a $1 trillion investment pledge from Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia’s never been as safe as it is right now,” Trump said.
Talks before the dinner focused on defense and trade, with bin Salman expressing a desire to join the Abraham Accords, established in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states.
“We want peace for the Israelis. We want peace for the Palestinians,” bin Salman said. “We want them to coexist peacefully in the region, and we will do our best to reach a deal.”
Trump said Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords is a possibility.
“We’ve had a very good talk of the Abraham Accords,” Trump said. “We talked about one state, two state, you know, we talked about a lot of things.”
In his second term, Trump has sought to bolster relations with Saudi Arabia. He announced Monday a sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the Gulf state, while the crown prince pledged $1 trillion in U.S. investments, in addition to the $600 billion prior commitment from Trump’s high-stakes May 2025 visit to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi crown prince’s visit to the White House is his first in seven years.
Reuters contributed to this report.
