Former President Donald Trump reportedly contacted Elon Musk last summer to discuss the potential sale of his social network, Truth Social.

Donald Trump Reportedly Offered to Sell Truth Social to Elon Musk

Although the conversation with Elon Musk did not result in an agreement, it shows the two figures have communicated more than was known.

Citing two of the former president's advisers familiar with the conversation, The Washington Post reported that besides business, Donald Trump and the X owner have also engaged in other discussions, such as politics.

According to The Post, Trump's media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Truth Social, was stuck in a long-delayed merger process and faced a dim financial outlook during last summer's discussion. 

Trump has reportedly continued telling his advisers and people close to him that the tech billionaire should buy Truth Social despite previous negotiations not yielding any positive results.

Musk reportedly met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month, along with some unnamed wealthy Republican donors, as part of their previous conversations. The meeting comes as cash-strapped Trump actively seeks big donors to help him beat President Joe Biden in the 2024 election. 

The meeting was first reported by the New York Times, without the subject of the discussion being revealed, but the second world's richest man later wrote on X that he was "not donating money to either candidate for US President."

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Vows to Get Tough With Tariffs Again if Reelected, Says China Is 'the Boss of the United States'

Elon Musk Belittles Donald Trump's Truth Social

Following his acquisition of X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022, Elon Musk has once belittled Truth Social, saying in a post that the former president's site had a "terrible name" and that Donald Trump should "hang up his hat & sail into the sunset."

But as he declared himself a "free speech absolutist," Musk has reversed most of the platform's decisions to ban controversial figures deemed to incite violence, harassment, hate speech, and spread harmful misinformation on the social network.

Trump's account was among those that Musk reinstated. The former president was banned from the platform following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and the ban was lifted in November 2022.

However, Trump launched his social network as he felt that the restrictions imposed on him by major social media platforms violated his free speech rights.

The former president has not posted on X because he wanted to create and maintain financial value for his Truth Social, which has encountered significant financial challenges since its launch in 2022. According to November SEC filings, the platform incurred losses totaling tens of millions of dollars in 2023. 

If the former president, who faces hundreds of millions of dollars in legal penalties, still chose to sell the platform, it could provide him the cash he needs. However, its merger process with Digital World Acquisition Corp. and the lockup period could complicate it.

READ MORE: Elon Musk, Donald Trump Meet in Florida as Former President Woos Wealthy Donors to Fund His Cash-Strapped Campaign