White House aides have, according to the outlet, also scheduled a call with Musk on Friday in the hope of diffusing the situation.

Trump and Musk’s unlikely political marriage exploded in a fiery public divorce Thursday, with the US president threatening to strip the billionaire of his huge government contracts.

Trump said in a televised Oval Office diatribe that he was “very disappointed” after his former aide and top donor criticised his “big, beautiful” spending bill before Congress.

The pair traded insults over social media, with Musk – who was Trump’s biggest campaign donor to the tune of US$300 million – claiming the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without his support.

But Trump played down the feud during his brief interview with POLITICO on Thursday.

“It’s going very well, never done better,” Trump told POLITICO before going on to tout his favourability ratings.

The row could have major political and economic fallout, as shares in Musk’s Tesla car company plunged and the South African-born tech tycoon vowed that he would end a critical US spaceship programme.