‘He's very welcome’: EU woos Elon Musk after explosive split with Trump

The European Union has opened its doors to Elon Musk following his dramatic public fallout with US President Donald Trump, a break-up that has rocked the political and business worlds on both sides of the Atlantic."He's very welcome", European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said with a smile on Friday when asked if the billionaire had expressed interest in moving or expanding his businesses within the EU.

Speaking during the Commission’s daily briefing, Pinho's comment came just a day after Trump expressed rare “disappointment” with Musk, sparking a bitter exchange between the two on social media."Everyone is very welcome indeed to start and to scale in the EU," added Thomas Regnier, the Commission's tech spokesperson, referencing the bloc’s "Choose Europe" initiative that encourages startups and business expansion.The rupture between Musk and Trump had been building for weeks but erupted into full view on Thursday after Musk slammed Trump’s flagship legislation, nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, as an “abomination.” Trump hit back publicly, accusing Musk of going “crazy” over the EV subsidy cuts in the bill and threatened to strip his companies of $18 billion worth of US government contracts.The backlash triggered a selloff in Tesla stock, wiping out more than $100 billion in market value.

In retaliation, Musk vowed to shut down his company’s vital Dragon spacecraft programme, though he later appeared to walk that back, replying “OK, we won’t decommission Dragon” on X.The feud turned personal fast. Musk alleged Trump was mentioned in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, without providing evidence and endorsed a post calling for Trump’s impeachment. Trump, in turn, accused Musk of “wearing thin” and claimed he had asked the billionaire to leave his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) just a week earlier.Musk, who had donated $300 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign, said the president would not have won the election without his support. “Ingratitude,” he wrote on X.The clash has far-reaching implications as Musk’s companies, like Tesla and SpaceX, rely heavily on government contracts, and the fallout could impact legislation, tech funding, and even the broader Republican political landscape.A White House call with Musk was reportedly scheduled for Friday in an attempt to cool tensions, according to Politico. Still, with Trump threatening to terminate all government support—“The easiest way to save money in our Budget is to terminate Elon’s government subsidies and contracts,” he posted on Truth Social—the rift appears far from over.For now, Europe may be waiting with open arms.