US President Donald Trump said Friday that Elon Musk had "lost his mind" but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally.

The blistering public break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful is fraught with political and economic risks all round.

Trump had scrapped the idea of a call with Musk and was even thinking of ditching the red Tesla he bought at the height of their bromance, White House officials told AFP.

But Trump told US broadcasters that he now wanted to focus instead on passing his "big, beautiful" mega-bill -- Musk's harsh criticism of which had sparked their break-up.

But the 78-year-old Republican could not stop himself from taking aim at his South African-born friend-turned-enemy.

"You mean the man who

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