President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House on Monday, said he’s holding on to his Tesla and keeping Starlink running despite a nasty fallout with Elon Musk that dominated headlines all week.

How should a corporate board respond to a CEO publicly insulting and shaming a sitting president? It’s not a question that most need to consider, since few chief executives dare to directly criticize the White House.

The partnership crystallised in mid-2024, after an assassination attempt on Trump led Musk to shift from critic to donor. He poured nearly $300 million into the Republican war chest, joined the cabinet as head of the meme-friendly Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),