Washington D.C., USA – A public rift has emerged between President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, as the two men trade insults following Musk’s criticism of a key domestic policy. The feud escalated throughout Thursday, with both billionaires using their respective social media platforms to launch barbs at each other, signaling a bitter turn in their previously unlikely alliance.
The dispute began with Mr. Trump expressing “disappointment” over Mr. Musk’s criticisms of his administration’s major tax and spending bill, suggesting it might spell the end of their “great relationship.” In response, Mr. Musk accused Mr. Trump of “ingratitude,” claiming, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
After hours of public sparring, Mr. Trump appeared to de-escalate the situation, telling news site Politico, “Oh it’s okay. It’s going very well, never done better.” Politico also reported that his aides had scheduled a phone call with Mr. Musk for Friday. Mr. Musk also seemed to acknowledge the need for reconciliation, responding with “You’re not wrong” to a post by prominent Trump supporter Bill Ackman, who suggested the pair needed to make peace.
The flashpoint in their relationship came after weeks of Mr. Musk lobbying against Mr. Trump’s proposed “big, beautiful” spending bill, which passed the US House of Representatives last month and awaits a vote in the Senate. Shortly after his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) after 129 days, Mr. Musk took to his social media platform X, labelling the bill a “disgusting abomination” and stating, “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.” He argued the bill would irresponsibly increase the US national debt and urged his followers to contact their representatives in opposition.
Speaking to reporters alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, Mr. Trump defended the bill, expressing disappointment that Mr. Musk, who he said “knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody,” suddenly had a problem with it. Mr. Trump implied that Mr. Musk’s frustration might stem from the bill’s removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles, which could affect his Tesla business.
Mr. Musk denied this, countering: “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.” “Pork” is a term in US politics referring to wasteful government spending often included to benefit specific groups or localities.
The partnership between the two men reportedly began when Mr. Musk endorsed Mr. Trump in July last year after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, with the Tesla boss said to have contributed significantly to Mr. Trump’s political efforts. Following Thursday’s news conference, Mr. Musk further claimed credit for the Republican victory in last November’s election, asserting, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” He then added, “Such ingratitude.”
Mr. Musk continued to stir controversy, posting a poll asking followers if it was time to create a new political party representing the “80% in the middle.” He also reposted a tweet calling for Mr. Trump’s resignation, argued that his global tariff plan would trigger a US recession, and, without evidence, suggested Mr. Trump appeared in unreleased files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges and died by suicide awaiting trial, during Mr. Trump’s presidency. Mr. Trump had stated he knew Epstein “like everybody in Palm Beach knew him” but had a “falling out with him a long time ago.”
The White House condemned Mr. Musk’s allegation, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying it was an “unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
On his Truth Social network, Mr. Trump claimed Mr. Musk “just went CRAZY” and suggested, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.” Mr. Musk’s companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, hold direct government contracts and benefit from various subsidies and tax breaks.
In response, Mr. Musk initially stated SpaceX would “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” a craft used for missions to the International Space Station. However, he later appeared to backtrack, confirming, “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.” Tesla shares reportedly dropped by 14% within hours of the public feud erupting.
According to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the spending bill could increase the US national debt by $2.4 trillion over 10 years and leave nearly 11 million people without government-backed health insurance. The White House disputes these figures, claiming they do not account for revenues from increased tariffs.
As head of Doge, Mr. Musk implemented mass sackings and eliminated departments such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), claiming to have saved $180 billion, though this figure has been disputed and falls short of his initial $2 trillion goal.
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