Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk sports a black eye at White House event, courtesy of playful encounter with his 5-year-old son X.
- Musk jokes about injury with reference to French First Lady incident, saying he "wasn't anywhere near France."
- Billionaire concludes his role in Trump administration's cost-cutting initiative with mixed results on federal savings.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A bruised Elon Musk explained away a black eye during a White House appearance on Friday by saying that his 5-year-old son had punched him in the face while the two were playing around.
Musk made the comments during an Oval Office event with Donald Trump marking the end of the billionaire’s formal cost-cutting role in the president’s administration.
Black Eye Raises Questions
Musk’s visibly bruised right eye caught reporters’ attention. Asked about the injury, Musk said he was “horsing around” with his son, who is named X.
“And I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did,” Musk said.
Trump then interjected. “That was X that did that? …X could do it. If you knew X.”
Musk’s Response
When he was initially asked about the bruise, Musk brushed it off with his usual cryptic humor. “I wasn’t anywhere near France,” he quipped, referencing a recent incident where President Emmanuel Macron’s wife shoved him in the face.
Musk said he didn’t feel much at the time but it bruised later.
The Tesla CEO is leaving the Trump administration after leading a tumultuous cost-cutting drive, during which he upended several federal agencies but ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had sought.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland; Editing by Rami Ayyub)
