Relationship status: It¡¯s complicated.

The simmering feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and tech titan Elon Musk has gone public, sending Tesla¡¯s stock tumbling then rebounding, calling his government contracts into question and leaving Trump possibly in a more commanding position over the world¡¯s richest man.

But really, who knows what to make of this always-odd pairing between two erratic men?

Late Thursday, Musk signaled he was open to a detente. Reports of a Friday phone call surfaced and were then dismissed by Trump, and all against the backdrop of pleadings from a MAGA world riven by the prospect of their leaders turning on each other. Yet little is permanent in Trump world, except for chaos and disruption.

Where this goes from here and how it ends is anyone¡¯s guess, but what¡¯s clear is that the political friendship that saw two of the world¡¯s most powerful men attached at the hip at the beginning of Trump¡¯s presidency has now become an unstable mess.

This, of course, is no way to run a country.

The daylong brawl starkly revealed what had always been plainly obvious: This relationship is transactional and has always smelled of corruption, with Musk¡¯s $270 million campaign contribution buying him a powerful foothold in the government, including billions in contracts and access to data and the inner workings of federal agencies.

It was only last week that Trump gifted Musk with a golden key to the White House, saying his ¡°service to America has been without comparison in modern history¡± and commemorating his final day as a special government employee.

But that send-off couldn¡¯t paper over the increasing cracks in the friendship.

Musk had become a political liability to Trump, even as the president became a business liability to the world¡¯s richest man.

The union has cost Musk billions, damaging his brand and leading him to suggest he was done with politics. ¡°I think I¡¯ve done enough,¡± Musk said in a Bloomberg interview last month when asked about his political spending on Trump and the Republican cause. The billionaire, who operates the Building America¡¯s Future PAC, had vowed to spend $100 million on the midterms, though that¡¯s now in doubt.

And in ceding such power to Musk, Trump marred the first 100 days of his presidency with erratic cuts, mistakes and walk-backs that led to infighting among staff and cabinet members who couldn¡¯t control Musk. His Department of Government Efficiency was largely a failure, with costs likely outweighing savings, federal spending continuing to rise and the Trump administration now undoing some of DOGE¡¯s firings.

In the days after his official tenure wrapped up, Musk then proved just how uncontrollable he was, training his fire on...