Charlie Warzel: “Musk had, it seems, kicked off an attentional spectacle without precedent. You have the world’s richest man, who is terminally online and whose brain has been addled by social media and, reportedly, other substances. He is one of the most prolific and erratic high-profile posters, so much so that he purchased his favorite social network to mold it in his image. He is squaring off against Trump, arguably the most consequential, off-the-cuff poster of all time and, one must note, the current president of the United States. If it weren’t for the other, both men would be peerless in their ability to troll, outrage, and command news cycles via their fragile, mercurial egos.”

“The point being: If this public fight between Musk and Trump continues, we will witness a Super Bowl of schadenfreude unfold. It’s guaranteed to entertain and leave those of us who spectate feeling gross. It is, in other words, the logical endpoint of internet beefs.”

President Trump has a “large reserve of proclamations and executive orders — many of which have been long in the making — to drive its chosen narrative, push the president’s priorities and sometimes change the subject when news coverage focuses on topics that Trump officials prefer to downplay,” the Washington Post reports.

Wall Street Journal: “The extraordinary fight between Trump and Musk that rippled across the country threatens the new MAGA governing coalition that the president built and Musk funded. It puts a target on Musk’s six companies, many of which are heavily regulated by the federal government. And it gives Democrats a rare moment of reprieve at a low point for the party…”

“The Trump-Musk blowup was long predicted. Even people close to both men believed privately that their relationship was destined to implode. But the fast-paced, rat-a-tat escalation still came as a shock to a White House that has grown used to curveballs—and a president who often defended Musk as his aides grew frustrated.”

President Trump told ABC News he was “not particularly” interested in talking to Elon Musk after their blistering exchange yesterday.

Said Trump: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?” 

He claimed that Musk wants to talk to him, but he’s not ready to talk to Musk.

“Shortly after President Trump unexpectedly withdrew Elon Musk’s pick to lead NASA last weekend, one name quickly surfaced as a major force behind the surprise decision: top White House aide Sergio Gor,” Axios reports.

“Senate Republicans also blamed Gor for helping undermine the NASA nomination to settle a score with Musk, who had been critical of Gor’s management of the White House personnel office.”

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit a Qatari luxury Boeing 747 jetliner to fly as the new Air Force One, USA Today reports.

Said Meink: “It’s probably less than $400 million to retrofit that aircraft.”

Politico: “White House aides, after working to persuade the president to temper his public criticism of Musk to avoid escalation, scheduled a call Friday with the billionaire CEO of Tesla to broker a peace.”

Playbook: “But not everyone wants a detente. In our running conversations last night with senior administration officials and Republicans with close ties to Trump, the White House was absolutely dumping on Musk, even as press secretary Karoline Leavitt took to Sean Hannity’s show to talk about dialing down tensions.”

New York Times: “Usually, when Mr. Trump has a big, messy falling-out in public, it is with someone who needs him, a lesser being who lives in fear of a primary challenge or somehow being ruined. But now he was beefing with the rare person who has leverage over him — political and financial leverage and perhaps even some emotional leverage. When Mr. Trump said on Thursday that he was ‘very disappointed in Elon,’ he sounded as if he meant it.”

Washington Post: The epic breakup of Trump and Musk’s White House bromance.

Punchbowl News: “By late Thursday night, Musk posted a number of messages indicating he wants a truce. This makes sense because he has more to lose than Trump does. The GOP base will stick with Trump. Musk’s biggest worry is stockholders, who are much more fickle. Politico reported Musk’s camp will speak to Trump’s as soon as today; the two camps were one just a few weeks ago.”

“If the breakup holds — and there’s no guarantee it does — Musk could dump a small sliver of his wealth into dozens of Republican primaries, potentially costing the GOP its majorities in Congress and hurting Trump in the process. He could put money into a third-party operation to siphon off Republican votes or run TV ads bashing Trump’s agenda.”

“It all depends on the mercurial Musk’s pain tolerance and the state of his rapidly unraveling relationship with the president.”

Wall Street Journal: “Underneath the drama is genuine political and financial risk for both billionaires.”

New York Times: 8 ways Musk and Trump could inflict pain on each other.