It’s turning out to be the breakup of the decade in a Washington full of wealthy people and powerful figures. And everyone on the planet can witness it occurring.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, his former close advisor and major political backer, started a savage public spat that may have long-term effects on the richest man in the world, the president, and the Republican Party as a whole.
The two dodged almost everything, with Musk suggesting that the president should be impeached, Trump threatening Musk’s businesses, and Musk even bringing up accusations against Jeffrey Epstein.
It’s turning out to be the breakup of the decade in a Washington full of wealthy people and powerful figures. And everyone on the planet can witness it occurring.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, his former close advisor and major political backer, started a savage public spat that may have long-term effects on the richest man in the world, the president, and the Republican Party as a whole.
The two dodged almost everything, with Musk suggesting that the president should be impeached, Trump threatening Musk’s businesses, and Musk even bringing up accusations against Jeffrey Epstein.
During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, “Elon and I had a great relationship.” “I’m not sure we will anymore.” He subsequently claimed to be “extremely disappointed in Elon” and implied that Musk was afflicted with “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Boom.
Musk quickly retaliated, posting on his social media platform X minutes after breaking fundraising records by spending almost $300 million to help propel Trump to the presidency: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Democrats would have controlled the House, and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” “Such ingratitude,” he added.
From there, the explosion spread like a mushroom.
Trump said on Truth Social that “terminating Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts, which are reportedly worth $38 billion, is the easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars.” Trump had given Musk broad authority with little oversight as part of the Department of Government Efficiency to slash through the federal government, rooting out so-called waste, fraud, and abuse.
Musk stated that SpaceX, his rocket business, would “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately” in response to Trump’s threat. Dragon is used by the U.S. government to deliver goods and passengers to the International Space Station.
Despite receiving billions of dollars in government subsidies, Tesla’s stock price dropped more than 14% on Thursday afternoon. During Musk’s tenure in the White House, the automaker, which provides a significant portion of his riches, has seen a number of financial setbacks. Prior to his departure, Musk explained that he had to leave Washington in order to concentrate on growing the struggling business.
Additionally, Trump said that Musk had “asked him to leave” because he had been “wearing thin” while at the White House.
Musk responded with a flurry of his own X postings. What a blatant falsehood. He described the accusation as “so sad.”
He proceeded to unleash what he referred to as “the really big bomb.”
In reference to the documents of the inquiry into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he claimed that Trump “is in the Epstein files.” Musk added: “Save this post for later.” “That is the true reason they have not been made public,” Musk stated. The truth will be revealed.
Some of the president’s supporters have been fixated on the Epstein probe, and the Department of Justice disclosed what it called the “first phase” of records pertaining to it in February. It has long been known that records made public in court cases involving Epstein mention Trump and other well-known individuals, such as Bill Clinton. However, Trump is not charged with any misconduct related to Epstein.
Musk’s remarks on Thursday were attributed by the White House to his disdain of the GOP megabill.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “Elon is upset with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. This is an unfortunate episode from him.” “The President is committed to enacting this landmark law and restoring our nation’s greatness.”
Although Trump and Musk have previously disagreed on policy—Musk, for instance, criticized Trump’s broad tariff system, saying it would hurt his companies—the dispute over the megabill exposed a deeper rift between the two erstwhile pals.
Trump asserted in the White House on Thursday that Musk “had no problem with it” and had “understood the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody.” However, Trump claimed that a provision of the measure that would reduce electric vehicle subsidies and jeopardize Tesla had “disturbed” Musk.
Trump asserted in the White House on Thursday that Musk “had no problem with it” and had “understood the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody.” However, Trump claimed that a provision of the measure that would reduce electric vehicle subsidies and jeopardize Tesla had “disturbed” Musk.
Trump added that Musk had been let down when the White House withdrew its nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA last week. Trump claimed that although Musk had urged Isaacman for the position, the president had chosen to choose someone else because Isaacman “happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat.”
Trump claimed, “Musk had a problem all of a sudden, and he only got it when he learned that we were going to reduce the EV mandate, which is billions and billions of dollars.”
In a subsequent article, Musk refuted Trump’s assertion that he was aware of the bill’s “inner workings,” stating that it “was never shown to me even once.”
Musk stated, “Get rid of the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill, but keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in it, even though no oil and gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!.”
