Elon Musk attends Trump's dinner with Saudi crown prince

Elon Musk joined a dinner with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday, the second joint public appearance since a bitter public feud earlier this year.

Musk's attendance could be a sign of reconciliation in a turbulent relationship between the Tesla CEO and the US president.

Musk supported and funded Trump's election last year and became a close adviser to his administration early this year, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and overseeing cuts to federal funding and jobs.

But the two soon had a falling out. The billionaire businessman took to social media to attack Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill as fiscally reckless, and said he planned to create a new political party. Trump hit back threatening to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies received from the federal government.

The feud, along with Musk's far-right political rhetoric, hurt Tesla's brand image, sales and stock price, analysts have said.

Musk and Trump have rarely come together publicly since. Musk was last spotted shaking hands with Trump at a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.

Trump says designating Saudi Arabia major non-NATO ally

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally during the gala dinner at the White House.

"Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them," Trump said.

"And I'm just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight," Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received.

Trump is hosting the Saudi de facto ruler as the latter seeks to rehabilitate his global image and deepen ties with Washington.

Others at the dinner included Portugal's soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Ronaldo, who has scored over 950 goals for club and country, is contracted to play for the Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr until 2027, which is majority owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund.

Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk and will take part in a discussion on advances in artificial intelligence at a US-Saudi Arabia investment forum in Washington on Wednesday, according to a document seen by Reuters news agency.

"This conversation will explore the emerging forces shaping the next wave of technological progress, highlighting the architectures, models, and investments powering a more intelligent and interconnected future," the document said.

The discussion will be moderated by Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia's minister of communications & information technology.