The row between Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and US President Donald Trump was triggered by stress on both sides and Elon made a mistake by publicly challenging Trump, Musk's father has told Russian media in Moscow.
Musk and Trump began exchanging insults last week on social media with Musk denouncing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination".
"You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months - you know - give them a break," Errol Musk told the Izvestia newspaper during a visit to the Russian capital. "They are very tired and stressed so you can expect something like this."
"Trump will prevail - he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed."
Errol Musk also suggested that the row "was just a small thing" and would "be over tomorrow".
He made his remarks at the sidelines of the "Russia-2050" forum held in Moscow.
Errol Musk said that his son is a "principled man who did not want to approve the budget that does not cut spending, but in politics one can not expect to fully achieve the desired result".
Neither the White House nor Musk could be reached for comment outside normal US business hours.
Trump said on Saturday his relationship with billionaire donor Musk was over and warned there would be "serious consequences" if Musk decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill.
Musk, the world's richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.