Trump Warns of Consequences for Musk if He Backs Candidates Against Republicans

President Trump said on Saturday that he believed his relationship with Elon Musk was over after the two sparred publicly on social media this week, and he warned there would be “serious consequences” if Mr. Musk financed candidates to run against Republicans who voted in favor of the president’s domestic policy bill.

In a phone interview with the NBC journalist Kristen Welker, Mr. Trump said he had no plans to speak with Mr. Musk, calling the tech billionaire “disrespectful” to the office of the president. When asked whether he had any desire to repair his relationship with Mr. Musk, Mr. Trump said, “No.”

But this seemed unlikely to be the president’s final word on the matter.

Despite saying repeatedly over the past 24 hours that he is spending no time thinking about Mr. Musk, Mr. Trump has taken numerous phone calls and questions from reporters in which he has expounded on their relationship. On an Air Force One flight to New Jersey on Friday afternoon, Mr. Trump spent time in his cabin watching Fox News coverage of his feud with Mr. Musk, before walking to the back cabin to answer questions from reporters on the topic.

Mr. Trump has offered a range of views in his conversations over the past few days. In some, Mr. Trump has described Mr. Musk as somebody who has gone “crazy.” In others, he has expressed sympathy, as if Mr. Musk were a wayward son. He has told associates that Mr. Musk is out of his mind on drugs, but at other times he has said he wishes him well and has seemed to leave open the possibility of reconciliation. He has also dangled the threat of canceling contracts that Mr. Musk’s companies have with the federal government.

Behind the scenes, people close to both men have tried to broker a détente and there have been some signs of de-escalation. Mr. Musk has deleted some of his most incendiary social media posts and Mr. Trump has been more restrained, by his standards, in his public criticisms of Mr. Musk.

Advisers to Mr. Trump say they think the relationship will never be the same again. But some forecast an eventual truce, albeit one based on the transactional aspect of their relationship, with both men recognizing their abilities to help and harm each other.